The English Department at Barnsley Academy is fully committed to ensuring every student makes above expected progress in both reading and writing. Our team is determined to equip our students with both the skills and qualifications that will open doors and allow them to become successful in life.
Curriculum Vision
Our English curriculum develops students into critical, independent readers who are confident, creative communicators. We encourage a sense of enthusiasm around academic study of literature, and, through this, we provide students with the opportunities to learn about different eras, different cultures, different beliefs and themselves. Within the curriculum, the English Department is committed to nurturing our students into becoming powerful readers, with a strength and passion for reading.
All students make connections between texts and the contexts that they were written in
We place importance on the teaching of context around the texts that our students learn. Every student has the historical, cultural and social knowledge to effectively understand texts in their context.
All students have access to a broad and diverse selection of literature texts
We regularly review and improve our curriculum to ensure that it is diverse and broad. This means that students read about a range of experiences and ideas and see writers and readers as diverse and relevant to their lives.
Through the reading curriculum, students are exposed to an even broader range of texts that cover a range of literary genres and styles.
All students develop critical thought around literature
Within literature, all students are exposed to an aspirational academic standard of literary thinking. This is developed through classroom discussion, Expert Modelling of analytical interpretation leading to Independent Practice, the use of critical theory and expansive questioning.
All students express themselves confidently and creatively
Through discussion and writing, students engage with the world and the issues around them. We ensure that their persuasive and discursive writing reflects issues that they encounter in the real world so that they are empowered to comment on and change their environment.
All students develop a love of reading
Reading is the foundation of all learning within English. Throughout the curriculum, students are exposed to challenging texts that inspire a love of reading. A range of genres of texts are studied, spanning from adventure bildungsroman and Shakespearean tragedies to nonfiction self-development texts and identity and cultural poetry.