KS4 English

In English at RGS, we will broaden our horizons by meeting new people and new cultures through texts from a range of times and places. We will understand and appreciate the value of our literary heritage, using this knowledge to make sense of the present day. We will read widely including a range of fiction and non- fiction texts and will be curious about language and vocabulary. We will use language effectively ourselves, becoming highly articulate individuals, with the vocabulary and rhetoric to be able to express our own voices and independently formed opinions, as well as challenge others where necessary. Above all we will develop empathy which will allow us to become open minded individuals who embrace and enjoy the wider world around us.

We believe stories are fundamental to our understanding of the world, and therefore our curriculum is structured using the three core strands of Voices, Literary Heritage and Empathy. Having visited Stories Through Time in Y7, Stories Across Place in Y8 and Stories of People in Y9, KS4 moves on to include Stories Which Stand the Test of Time.

As Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie said, “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity….When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise.”

Exam board:

AQA English Language GCSE

AQA English Literature GCSE

How is this examined?

English Language:

Paper One (1 hour and 45 minutes): Fiction, One twentieth or twenty-first century prose extract, 4 reading questions and 1 writing question. (Descriptive and narrative writing - choice of two questions).
Paper Two (1 hour and 45 minutes): Non-fiction. One nineteenth-century non-fiction text and one twentieth or twenty-first century text. (Speech, letter, essay, article or leaflet). 4 reading questions and 1 writing question (non-fiction one of the aforementioned forms - no choice of question.)
English Literature:
- Paper One (1 hour 30 minutes): Shakespeare and 19th century novel. 2 extract-based essays, no choice of question and closed book.
- Paper Two (2 hours and 15 minutes): Modern text (novel or play) choice of two questions, Poetry (Power and Conflict/Worlds and Lives) anthology and Unseen Poetry. Closed book.

Our Curriculum:

At Redland Green we have a team of passionate and exceptional English teachers. Each of the team brings their own interest and experience to the role. While the core elements remain the same between each class (for example a modern novel, a 19th century and a poetry anthology), the actual texts chosen are chosen by the class teacher to allow them to bring their own passion and experience to their class. This has been shown through the last few years to deliver excellent outcomes for our students.

Year 10

Year 11

Term 1 & 2:

Literature: Modern Text (either Lord of the Flies/My Name Is Leon/An Inspector Calls.)
Language: Reading and Writing skills

Term 3 & 4:

Literature: 19 Century Novel (either A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein).
Language: Reading and Writing skills

Term 5:

Literature: Unseen Poetry
Literature: Poetry Anthology (either Love and Relationships, Worlds and Lives or Power and Conflict.)

Term 6:

Language: Paper 1 Language

Term 1:

Literature: Shakespeare: Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet
Literature: Revisit 19 Century Novel
Language: Revisit Language Paper 1

Term 2: (Post November Mocks)

Language: Paper 2
NEA: Spoken Language Endorsement

Term 3:

Language: Paper 2
NEA: Spoken Language Endorsement

Literature: Poetry Anthology

Term 4:

Literature: Complete Poetry Anthology, and Unseen Poetry and Modern Text revision

Term 5 & 6

Revision

Wider Reading Recommendation Lists

y10 book list document a4 .pdf

a level aspiration reading list.pdf

Key Stage 4 - Cross Curricular Reading

One of the best ways to get high marks in your GCSE subjects is to ‘conceptualise’ your essay responses to exam questions.

This essentially means having ‘a take’ or thesis in your essay i.e. you use your essay to say something interesting or relevant in response to that essay title.

One of the best ways to do this is to make cross-curricular links across your GCSE learning.

To help you do this below are some links to online non fiction reading that will help you make connections between your different GCSE subjects. NB Not all texts are covered.