1
1

English

As a department, we encourage our students to recognise the creative impact of the written and spoken word through focused and inspiring teaching. ​​​The English team are predominantly specialists in their subject area, whether it be Language, Literature or a combination of both. It also comprises staff who hold senior positions on both GCSE and A Level exam boards.

Teachers give freely of their time and run revision sessions at lunch times and after school with Year 11 and Year 13 students throughout the academic year.

Key Stage 3
During Key Stage 3, students study a variety of literary texts in many different forms including prose, poetry and drama. Students are encouraged to write their own pieces of creative and transactional writing, and more recently we have introduced more project work.

Each year group is involved in some form of extended Spoken Language task, for example their own “Apprentice” presentations.

Key Stage 4
In Key Stage 4, students sit the Edexcel GCSEs in English Language and Literature. There are four exams at the end of Year 11 and a Spoken Language component. Texts studied include “Macbeth”, “A Christmas Carol”, a collection of poetry and a modern drama.

Students at UCC make progress beyond targets in both subjects and consistently achieve above the national average.

Key Stage 5
The department runs A Levels in English English Language and English Literature (Edexcel). Both A Levels are very popular, and take up and retention rates are very good. Students achieve results ranging from A* to E reflecting the inclusive nature of both courses.

The department runs a November resit GCSE course for students wishing to improve their original grade which achieves excellent results.

Staff

  • Ms S Wilson (Director of English)
  • Mrs K Simkins
  • Ms F Buckley
  • Ms E Cummings
  • Miss N Forbes
  • Mr J Harris
  • Mrs C Tuer
  • Mr J Nulty
  • Ms C Pearson-Rolph
  • Mr M Shearer
  • Mrs E Bennett
  • Ms B Atkinson
  • Ms N McCracken
  • Ms L Scott

Intent & implementation

As a department, we value challenge and variety in our curriculum across all stages. In KS3, we emphasise basic skills, knowledge of technical terminology, wide reading and creative, imaginative writing. By the end of Year 9, students will be encouraged to be independent readers and thinkers. They will have read various books, play and poems from authors across the world, as well as the opportunities to recite and perform poetry. Furthermore, as oracy is such an important part of successful literacy, our students are actively encouraged to participate in debates, delivering speeches, discussion and role-play. In KS4, all students study English Literature and English Language. The skills demonstrated in each overlap considerably focusing on novels, plays and poetry and Language extracts from texts, including articles and reviews from the 20th and 21st centuries.

In the English department we will offer a range of complementary schemes of learning that build across the year groups. The schemes will be categorised into wider areas within the English curriculum so that students receive a broad and balanced offer in English at UCC.

Our schemes will cover the following broad areas:
Modern fiction (including that from other cultures), classic fiction, drama, poetry, Shakespeare, reading non-fiction texts, written communication (including creative and transactional writing) and spoken language. In addition, students will be encouraged to explore a diverse version of media texts.

Curriculum Maps

GCSE Revision

A Level Revision

Learning links

Developing Cultural Capital

The UCC English Department take pride in delivering a curriculum that is rich with opportunities to develop students’ Cultural Capital. We have carefully structured our curriculum to provide an equal and diverse diet to all, which utilises challenging texts, wider-reading opportunities and free-writing. Using debate, we encourage students to question and challenge one another, showcasing their opinions on current social and political issues whilst we study the impact of viewing historical context from a modern perspective.

Extracurricular opportunities

The English department runs many clubs and trips. We host the annual Harry Potter event, have our own Twitter account, run clubs for readers and writers, and organise many visits from Wordsworth’s Dove Cottage to the pop-up theatres in York and an annual residential to London for 6th formers. More recently, the department has filmed students for revision and started its own film club.

Careers Education

In English, our students are encouraged to develop employability skills from the start of their UCC journey. Focusing on a punctual start, smart appearance and polite welcome, we foster a working environment in our classrooms. At all ages, we focus on delivering key employability skills such as letter writing, presentation of ideas, analysis of language and evaluation of the writer’s purpose. We have a good relationship with higher education services in the local area, including Lancaster University who offer taster courses and enrichment opportunities for our students.

View our
English film
Play Video

Browse our subjects

  • Applied Learning

  • Art

  • Business

  • Child Development

  • PSHE/RSHE

  • Computing & IT