English

Background

A large majority of our students do not have English as their mother tongue. However, nearly all of our year 7 students arrive from our three main partner primary schools with native or near native fluency. In a multicultural, multilingual environment, we aim to encourage students to understand more clearly their own culture and that of others. We aim to offer a curriculum that includes literature written in different varieties of world English and in translation and includes a balance of different literary genres which span many centuries. We have many outstanding students and a few have chosen to study English at leading universities such as Princeton and Oxford in recent years.

Teaching and Learning

We aim to make the teaching and learning experience enjoyable, challenging and relevant to the pupils' needs. We work closely with the Individual Needs and EAL departments to support students with some degree of special needs. There are two Literacy Target Groups in Year 7 and 8 which are co-taught by an English teacher and an SEN/EAL specialist. We provide opportunities for gifted students through cluster groups in Year 8 and by class groupings in year 9, 10 and 11. There are further opportunities in several extra-curricular activities run by the department. We also have the support of a Reading Centre Assistant and a Departmental Assistant. We run a programme for reading, speaking and listening for Year 7 and 8 in the Reading Centre. Classes go there one period a fortnight. The Reading Centre is also immensely valuable in promoting independent reading for students in years 7 to 10.

Vision

We aim to encourage independence of learning and of spirit. This involves being able to respond to texts with understanding, insight and enjoyment. We want students to be confident and open-minded. They need to be as skilled as possible in all aspects of communication which requires a good knowledge of language. Since the introduction of the IB diploma we have continued to develop our resources and schemes of work to establish more cross-curricular links and international perspectives. Through novels, plays and poetry our aim is to foster a genuine love of reading and to ensure that all pupils achieve a high standard of literacy, which will serve them well in their school studies and in later life too. The study of literature is essential in developing a student's critical ability, knowledge of self and empathy for the experiences of others.

Middle School

There is some grouping in Years 7 and 8, but students are mostly in mixed ability classes. We have a good selection of texts for teachers to choose from. There are common assessments which all students undertake. This includes speaking and listening. The assessment tasks mostly follow a departmental plan for the year, though there is some individual flexibility. One lesson a fortnight is in the Reading Centre. The students sit the Cambridge IGCSE First Language English examination at the end of Year 10. Some choose to re-sit in the following year. We use the coursework options for both Language and Literature. Our IGCSE Literature course begins at the end of Year 10 and is the focus of Year 11. Students are encouraged to maintain a reading log throughout Years 7 to 10. This will become an online journal as the school introduces student laptops. There is a Read Around the World Scheme to promote a range and variety of reading in Year 10 and to encourage an international dimension in student choices.

Senior School

Students sit the Edexcel IGCSE Literature exam in Year 11. We continue some wider reading throughout Year 11 which is intended to prepare the students for the demands of the IB course. All IB diploma students take A1 English at either Higher or Standard Level. We have developed comprehensive and thorough schemes of work that cover all the requirements of the syllabus. The Higher Level and Standard Level teachers follow the same schemes of work at the same time.