English
Curriculum Intent:
English at Sherburn High School aims to provide a rich variety of texts to engage, excite and develop students into being critical readers and writers of English. Students will leave school with a broad and balanced knowledge of literature and texts that will expose them to a variety of viewpoints, cultures and genres. We seek to empower our students to question and voice opinions, thinking critically about texts and representations. Alongside this, students will have a firm grasp of English Language skills:
reading, writing and oracy, that will enable them to work and function to the best of their abilities beyond their time at school.
We provide students with the skills for life that they need to be able to communicate effectively and creatively. Throughout their time at Sherburn High School, students will engage with a range of materials to broaden their cultural capital; understanding historical events and relevant social and political issues, both within the United Kingdom and beyond.
Implementation
We achieve this through thematic units in Years 7, 8 and 9. Students explore a variety of different topics and texts whilst developing their core language skills in reading, writing and oracy, of both fiction and non-fiction texts. Our units have been designed with our students at the forefront, exploring issues that are relevant, engaging and challenging in an accessible manor. In Year 10 and 11, we build on the foundations of learning established through our Key Stage 3 curriculum and study texts for English Literature that enhance the cultural capital studied previously. We further explore key issues of the time in our English Language units and offer real-world opportunities for reading and writing, beyond the GCSE exam. In Year 12 and 13, students can study A-Level English Language or A-Level Media Studies at Sherburn High School. Students may also elect to study English Literature at Tadcaster Grammar School as part of our Sixth From offer. In these courses, students are encouraged to choose their own paths of interest to study in more depth and we centre our coursework study around these interests for each student. The courses follow core learning from the specifications but are reviewed and updated to remain current. Across all of our cohorts, we seek opportunities to engage in learning beyond the classroom, including fieldtrips, residentials and speakers to bring English to life.