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English Literature

 

“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”    

Maya Angelou

Our Curriculum

English is organised so that students study a wide range of texts which allow them to become critical and evaluative thinkers. Students encounter and master writing with a variety of purposes.  We seek to enrich students’ understanding of language through the exploration of challenging and complex ideas; to understand the rich historical, cultural and social contexts influencing a text’s production; to appreciate the techniques and methods writers use to express their ideas; and to communicate the results of these investigations in lucid and sophisticated ways.  Through this understanding and appreciation, our students are also encouraged to create and craft their own writing.

Getting Better at English

Students get better at English through developing the key skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. They will be given opportunities to practise all of these skills in their English lessons as well as being exposed to a wide variety of vocabulary, sentence structures, text organisation and ideas which increase in complexity through the years and build on concepts introduced earlier in the course.

Beyond school

English provides students with critical tools to navigate the modern world with empathy, awareness and insight. The skills developed in English will be applied by students in daily life, not only to interpret and learn from texts but also to better understand themselves and others. Students will be able to produce their own high quality writing across a range of contexts - artistic, personal and professional. Our curriculum offers students vital cultural capital to build upon in their adult lives.

Careers

English is THE facilitating subject and, as such, enables access to all manner of opportunities which involve communication and creativity:  

Journalist, Barrister, Solicitor, Media Producer, Sales and Marketing Executive, Digital Content Producer, Librarian, Records Manager, Investment Manager, Editor, Publishing Proofreader, Writer, Customer Data Management, Advertising Executive, Archivist, Social Worker, Probation Officer, Customer Service Officer, Project Manager, Bank Manager, Web content Manager, Researcher, Theatre Director, Events Organiser, Personnel Officer, Recruitment Consultant, Public Relations Executive, Festival Director, Arts Manager, Teacher