The English Department’s vision is to deliver a curriculum that challenges, excites and enlightens our students. We aim to provide a curriculum that provides opportunities for all students and inspires them to be ambitious and make the best choices in life so all students achieve the best possible future.
Studying English allows our students to develop a wide range of skills which will provide them with the opportunity to pursue their future goals, whether it be in a top college, university or an alternative career path. English lessons at Barnsley Academy will nurture and develop many important skills, from analysis and inference to writing skills that will allow them to express their ideas and opinions. Students will build lifelong tools that can be utilised both within and beyond the Academy.
The Key Stage 3 Curriculum (Year 7-9)
The KS3 curriculum has been designed to develop and embed a range of subject-specific and transferable skills that will enable students to thrive in and beyond the classroom. The curriculum model explores a wide range of texts, with each year group studying a Shakespeare play, an anthology of poetry, a 19th century text, a modern text and non-fiction Literature. We aim to help students develop a passion for reading during Key Stage 3, providing them with opportunities to explore a breadth of Literature in a wide range of styles, all of which are suitably challenging for our students. From this love of reading, students are able to move to Key Stage 4 with the confidence and analytical skills required to succeed at and beyond GCSE level.
On a termly basis in KS3, all students complete assessments to measure the skills that they have been practising throughout the term. Along with these termly assessments, students are assessed informally in class, which enables teachers to be informed of any gaps in knowledge so that they can effectively identify and address any misconceptions or areas that may need re-teaching.
The Key Stage 4 Curriculum (Year 10-11)
Course Studied: English Language
Specification Link: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-language-8700/introduction
Description of the course:
KS4 is the second phase of learning that builds on and strengthens the skills and knowledge that students have developed in KS3. Students study GCSE English Language alongside GCSE English Literature. In KS4, students complete regular GCSE mock examinations of both Language papers – Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing (Paper 1, fiction) and Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives (Paper 2, nonfiction).
How the course is assessed:
Within Years 10 and 11, students complete regular GCSE rehearsal examinations of both Language papers – Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing (Paper 1, fiction) and Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives (Paper 2, nonfiction), which mirror the GCSE papers they will sit at the end of the course. Students will sit two Language papers, both will assess students’ Reading, comprehension and analysis skills, and their writing skills. Each exam contributes to 50% of the English Language GCSE.
Section A: Reading (25%) – students are provided with two nonfiction texts, and will answer a question assessing the following skills: Retrieval (4 marks), Summary (8 marks), Language Analysis (8 marks), Comparison (20 marks).
Section B: Writing (25%) – Students are assessed on an extended writing question and their ability to write a descriptive or narrative piece of writing (24 marks for content, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
Section A: Reading (25%) – students are provided with one literature fiction text, and will answer a question assessing the following skills: Retrieval (4 marks), Language Analysis (8 marks), Structural Analysis (8 marks), Evaluation (20 marks).
Section B: Writing (25%) – Students are assessed on an extended writing question and their ability to write a nonfiction piece of writing (letter, article, speech, essay) (24 marks for content, 16 marks for technical accuracy)
Students will present on a topic of their choice and are assessed on their ability to communicate clearly and listen to and respond to questions from their peers.
Course Studied: English Literature
Specification Link: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/gcse/english-literature-8702
Description of the course:
As part of the literature qualification our students study the following texts: Romeo and Juliet, A Christmas Carol, Blood Brothers and both Anthology and Unseen Poetry. Students will build upon the analytical skills gained in KS3 from the wide breadth of Literature and styles of writing studied and will delve further into the writer’s intentions, learning to track characters and themes through a text and explore the message behind their chosen ideas.
How the course is assessed:
As with Language, students complete regular GCSE rehearsal examinations of both Literature papers – Shakespeare and the 19th Century Novel (Paper 1) and Modern Texts and Poetry (Paper 2), which mirror the GCSE papers they will sit at the end of the course.
Section A - Romeo and Juliet. Students will answer one question on how a character or theme is presented, commenting on the writer’s choices and contextual information from the time the text was written. Students will be given an extract of the text.
Section B - A Christmas Carol. Students will answer one question on how a character or theme is presented, commenting on the writer’s choices and contextual information from the time the text was written. Students will be given an extract of the text.
Section A - Blood Brothers. Students will have a choice of two questions on how a character or theme is presented, commenting on the writer’s choices and contextual information from the time the text was written.
Section B - Anthology Poetry. Students will answer one comparative question on one named poem printed on the paper and one other poem from their chosen anthology cluster.
Section C - Unseen poetry. Students will answer one question on one unseen poem and one question comparing this poem with a second unseen poem.