English

At Merchants’ Academy Primary, we are driven by the knowledge that, ‘Reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a child’s future success’.

(Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development 2002).

We use high-quality texts, often with challenging story  lines to support our broad and rich curriculum. These ambitious texts immerse children in new worlds and introduce them to concepts, ideas, characters and places that they may not otherwise meet or experience: from the importance of worms in our soil to the intrepid explorations of Shackleton; to the plight of Syrian refugees or life in dystopian Britain. Texts are chosen thoughtfully: we want children to see themselves and their contemporary world in the literature they read, but also to be transported to other worlds and times so that they may learn about them and understand other viewpoints.

We have invested significant thought into curating a list of essential reads for our children which will build a ‘living library’ (Pie Corbett) inside a child’s mind. These texts range from classics which are deeply steeped in cultural consciousness; to contemporary award-winning texts; to texts that promote diversity and challenge stereotypes. This common bank of stories will shape our children’s view of the world; help them to explore emotions; inspire in them a love of reading and build a common bank of stories and experiences that bind our school community together.  We aim for all of these texts to leave a lasting impression and to provide the building blocks for further reading, learning and enjoyment, meaning children are ready for the next stage in their reading career.

We successfully bid for a generous donation from the Speilman Foundation to help us create a library worthy of inspiring our young readers. With a magical forest theme, it is designed to be a calming and inspiring space, filled with texts of all kinds to instill a love of reading. Our children LOVE their weekly library slot and our trusty Library club team are also opening the doors to parents on Monday nights! 

Writing.

“Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life; is essential to development and health and opens the way for democratic participation, active participation and active citizenship.”

Kofi Annan 2017.

At Merchants’ Academy, we want our students to be inspired to write by the wealth of quality literature they have access to and to have the functional literacy skills needed to be successful in creating and shaping texts that fulfil a range of purposes. We are a ‘Talk for Writing’ school, which means we place huge importance on children internalising high-quality language structures before they put pen to paper, as we find this is the best way to support our children to write accurately and independently.

Talk for Writing is an approach to teaching writing that encompasses a three-stage pedagogy: ​‘imitation’ (where pupils learn and internalise texts, to identify transferrable ideas and structures), ​‘innovation’ (where pupils are supported to use these ideas and structures to practise writing something similar tis happens via co-construction of a new version with their teacher in shared writing), and ​‘invention’ (where teachers help pupils to create original texts independently). These tasks aim to improve writing ability by giving pupils an understanding of the structure and elements of written language and enables children to read and write independently for a variety of audiences and purposes within different subjects.

We aim to promote high standards of language and literacy by equipping pupils with a strong command of the spoken and written word, a sound understanding of grammar and knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language. Children who can write clearly, accurately and coherently, adapting their language and style in and for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences will be better equipped to succeed in later life. We support vocabulary development through close analysis of vocabulary in texts studied in the Talk Through Stories programme in Reception and Year 1 and in Talk for Writing texts from Nursery to Year 6.

“Reading and writing float on a sea of talk” James Britton, 1970.

English at Merchants’ Academy curriculum intent

The English Curriculum at Merchants Academy is designed to inspire, challenge and engage our students.

We believe that we have a duty to close the vocabulary gap, improve oracy and offer students the cultural capital they need as well as providing them with the skills to be able to apply their knowledge to a range of situations.  We want our students to be prepared for the rigours of GCSEs and further study, but we also believe that our students deserve the opportunity to  be exposed to a wide range of modern and literary heritage texts, exploring the human condition and giving them the confidence to appreciate and explore literature with enthusiasm and to form and voice their own views on an ever changing world, finding self-belief and aspiration through their studies.

KS3 texts have been chosen to offer challenge, coverage of a broad range of periods of Literature and a range of human and social issues, building on the themes and issues explored at KS2 and preparing our students for KS4 and 5. The texts chosen tackle many of the issues raised in the GCSE and A-Level texts, such as: social justice and inequality, jealousy, revenge, friendship and loneliness, the supernatural, societal expectation, tyranny, violence, redemption and loss among many others.

We will develop students’ understanding of the human condition thematically as well as chronologically. In Year 7, we look at classical story-telling as the foundations for modern literature, exploring the concepts of heroes and villains and tying in with History’s exploration of classical civilization. We go onto look at dystopian society, considering heroism and villainy from a more modern perspective in The Hunger Games.  We also consider satire of heroism and villainy through Shakespeare.

In Year 8 we consider a society where science is revolting against religion, exploring challenges to morality and the development of the ideas of humanism, psychology and the supernatural as well as social issues such as women’s rights and inequality, through the study of 19^th Century Literature, preparing students for KS4, KS5 and beyond.  We build on Victorian questions about societal control, violence and manipulation with a more modern exploration of authoritarianism and rebellion in Animal Farm.  From there we explore societal expectation, control and rebellion whilst building knowledge of Shakespeare’s works through the study of Romeo and Juliet.

In Year 9 we look at heroism, patriotism and subversion through the Literature of War (again tying in with History), continuing to look at how society is organized through Of Mice and Men and finally studying morality, linking back to Greek Tragedy from Year 7, through A View from the Bridge.

We interleave reading, writing and oracy through Fortnightly Big Writes, fortnightly Accelerated Reader lessons and regular opportunities for Speaking and Listening, to producing learners who are thoughtful, critical, well-read and who have the confidence and articulacy to express themselves in any situation.

Our curriculum, as well as our delivery of it, is rooted in cognitive science.  Research regarding interleaving, retrieval practice, the ways in which we decode and comprehend the written word, the forgetting curve, cognitive load and working memory are all fundamental to the ways in which we have designed and the way in which we deliver the curriculum at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5, ensuring that pupils from all backgrounds are able to succeed.  

Course Title: English Literature
Exam Board: Eduqas
Qualification: A Level

About the course

The WJEC Eduqas A level in English literature encourages learners to develop their interest in and enjoyment of literature and literary studies as they:

• read widely and independently both set texts and others that they have selected
• for themselves
• engage critically and creatively with a substantial body of texts and ways of
• responding to them
• develop and effectively apply their knowledge of literary analysis and evaluation
• explore the contexts of the texts they are reading and others’ interpretations of
• undertake independent and sustained studies to deepen their appreciation and
• understanding of English literature, including its changing traditions.

This specification offers three components in discrete genres of study: poetry, drama and prose to allow learners to focus on the conventions and traditions of each genre in turn. A further component offers unseen prose and poetry to allow learners to focus separately on applying the skills of literary analysis acquired during the course as a whole.

Component 1:  Poetry

Section A: Poetry pre-1900 (open-book, clean copy)

One two-part question based on the reading of one pre-1900 poetry text from a prescribed list

Section B: Poetry post-1900 (open-book, clean copy)

One question from a choice of two based on the reading of two post-1900 poetry texts from a prescribed list

Contribution to final grade: 30%

How it is assessed: 2 hour written exam

Component 2:  Drama

Overview of content

Section A: Shakespeare (closed-book)

One two-part question based on the reading of one Shakespeare play from a prescribed list

Section B: Drama (closed-book) One question from a choice of two based on the reading of a pair of plays: one pre-1900 and one post-1900, from a prescribed list.

Contribution to final grade: 30%

How it is assessed: 2 hour written exam

Component 3:  Unseen texts

Section A: Unseen prose

One question from a choice of two, analysing an unseen passage of prose, taken from one of two prescribed periods for study

Section B: Unseen poetry

One question from a choice of two, analysing an unseen poem or poetry extract

Contribution to final grade: 20%

How it is assessed: 2 hour written exam

Component 4:  Prose Study

Overview of content:

One 2500-3500 word assignment based on the reading of two prose texts from different periods, one pre-2000 and one post- 2000, nominated by the Academy .

Contribution to final grade: 20%

How it is assessed: Coursework, internally assessed and externally moderated

For further information:

http://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/english-literature/as-a-level/