English
Gifted students in Years 7, 8 and 9 (Key Stage 3) follow thematic schemes of learning which are designed to provide academic challenge. Students are given the opportunity to explore a range of texts from different times and cultures.
Throughout the year, students have personalised learning experiences through Assessment Focus master classes. Within these classes, students are grouped according to their individual learning needs to develop essential skills that will enable them their skills in English.
Within all sessions, there is an emphasis on lifelong learning and transferable skills. We aim to ensure that students are able to unpick and articulate their learning skills, enabling them to transfer the learning to other contexts, both inside and outside of college.
Gifted students in Years 10 and 11 (Key Stage 4) work on developing the higher order skills needed to reach the A and A* grades for GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature. Learning focuses on encouraging originality and flair in students’ own writing. Guided work, allows gifted students to be set challenges that are personalised to their individual strengths.
Within reading, gifted students are stretched by being asked to explore the moral, philosophical and social significance of the texts being studied. Students develop their evaluation skills by appraising the writer’s narrative craft, and discussing the appeal to the reader. By analysing patterns and details of language, students explore how these details are exploited for implication or suggestion. Texts are chosen carefully for these groups, with the development of these challenging skills in mind.
In years 12 and 13 (Key Stage 5) gifted students are stretched both in lessons and in their independent study, as this is the nature of A level courses.
The English Faculty offers lots of gifted enrichment opportunities.
Our “Booked up” group is for keen readers in both Keys Stages 3 and 4. The group meets weekly to discuss fiction and non-fiction. At Key Stage 4, A/A* GCSE Enrichment sessions are provided to develop the flair and originality needed to reach the higher grades at GCSE. Our gifted students have enjoyed success in the Eden Bright Young Things competition. Theatre trips are organised regularly and provide students with further enrichment opportunities.
We are fortunate to be able to offer specialised sessions to our students. For example, Leo Hickman from the Guardian newspaper recently delivered a journalism master class to our gifted Year 9 students. Students worked in teams to research articles for their own newspaper front cover. They selected their lead and support stories following an editorial meeting. They then published their own front page.
The college has set up a ‘Future Prospects’ debating group to further develop gifted students’ communication skills.
Each year two Post 16 students are selected to visit Auschwitz as part of the Holocaust Education project. The students attend a number of seminars and on returning to the UK share their experiences by presenting to others year groups within the college.
How you can support your child in English.
Ask your child what they are reading in school and share this with them. Also ask what they reading for pleasure. Check they are broadening their reading experiences and aren’t ‘stuck in a rut’ of reading the same genre or author again and again. Discuss texts of all types with your child; discuss adverts, read newspapers, talk about what’s in the news, and share good films together. Ask your child how they intend to challenge themselves in their next piece of independent study taking into consideration the next step advice they received on the previous task.
