English
Welcome to our Department!
Staffing:
The English Department currently consists of seven full-time and one part-time member of staff. We are a dynamic, friendly and creative team including an Advanced Skills Teacher, a Key Stage 4 Co-ordinator and a mixture of new and experienced staff. Two of our team are also employed as English and Drama specialists and we enjoy the support of literacy specialist staff at both Key Stage 3 and 4.
Facilities:
We work in a suite of classrooms with state of the art ICT facilities (top-specification white-boards with accompanying resources and software; visualisers; projectors etc.); a curriculum area work room; access to specialist drama studios; and laptop trolleys for student use.
Curriculum:
We teach English and follow the WJEC double English GCSE syllabus at Key Stage 4 for all but a handful of students who take an entry level certificate. At Key Stage 3, our curriculm is based on the National Strategy. Class sizes are currently below 20 in Years 7, 10 and 11, and this will be extended into Year 8 from September 2009. We also teach English and Theory of Knowledge modules for the International Baccalaureate Diploma at Post 16.
One of our priorities is literacy,and we therefore have a dedicated cross-curricular literacy committee, currently developing an innovative and exciting Academy Literacy Policy. Our students enjoy independent reading which is supported by a pupose built Learning Resource Centre, staffed by our friendly librarian. Literacy is further promoted by a variety of competitions and activities, including guessing the member of staff behind the book, a celebration of World Book Day by dressing up as literary characters, and coming up, 'Extreme Reading'. We are supported by all members of staff across the Academy in these activities.