Key Stage 3
At KS3, students focus on one of these concepts within each unit. For example, students will explore the different relationships that Steinbeck presents in ‘Of Mice and Men’. At KS4, we expect students to demonstrate the ability to choose the most relevant concept to apply to a text or to their own written compositions. For example, when studying ‘Macbeth’, students may consider how Macbeth faces conflict between his ambition to gain power and his duty to his king, but they can also consider how his rise to power reflects traditional Aristotelian theories about tragic heroes.
Students begin Year 7 with an introduction to some of the significant literary periods: the Renaissance, the Romantic and the Victorian. This provides a lens through which to study a Renaissance text (‘The Tempest’) and a text with Romantic themes (‘Frankenstein’). Students then finish the year with a study of how life on the coast has inspired some of the great Cornish myths and some of the most popular writers in the UK.
Units:
- The Literary Timeline
- ‘The Tempest’ by William Shakespeare
- ‘Frankenstein’ adapted by Phillip Pullman
- Life on the Coast: An exploration of great, coastal writers, such as Daphne du Maurier, Charles Causley and Agatha Christie
Assessment:
In the first three units of the year, students complete an assessment of their ability to read and analyse through ‘The Big Question’ and they also complete an assessment of their ability to craft a composition (we focus on both fiction and non-fiction).
In the fourth unit of the year, students research, plan and perform a spoken presentation as we want our learners to be confident speakers.
Homework:
Each week, all KS3 students are expected to work through their assigned number of Sparx Reader Points on the Sparx Reader platform.
We begin Year 8 by broadening the horizons of our students, exposing them to challenging texts from a range of places, such as Japan and Nigeria. We then focus in on an in-depth study of Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ as an example of classic American fiction and as a stepping stone towards the early stages of the Civil Rights Movement. Students then move into the world of ‘Noughts and Crosses’ and are able to consider how progressive our world really is and gain an understanding of the complex racial biases that still exist in society. Students finish the year considering the wider notion of representation within our ‘Power of the Media’ unit.
Units:
- Literature from around the World
- ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck
- ‘Noughts and Crosses’ adapted by Dominic Black
- The Power of the Media
Assessment:
In the first three units of the year, students complete an assessment of their ability to read and analyse through ‘The Big Question’ and they also complete an assessment of their ability to craft a composition (we focus on both fiction and non-fiction).
In the fourth unit of the year, students research, plan and perform a spoken presentation as we want our learners to be confident speakers.
Homework:
Each week, all KS3 students are expected to work through their assigned number of Sparx Reader Points on the Sparx Reader platform.
Year 9 forms an important bridge between the breadth of KS3 and the depth of KS4. Students begin with a whole text study of ‘Animal Farm’. They will learn about the literary techniques that are used in many of the GCSE texts and develop a foundational understanding of writer’s craft. Students will then move into an exploration of fiction and non-fiction texts linked to various wars and conflicts. This provides an overview of a wide range of conflicts and introduces students to a wide range of Tier 3 vocabulary which will prove invaluable when studying the ‘Power and Conflict’ poetry at GCSE. Students then return to a Shakespearian text. They will build on their understanding of staging and Renaissance values (from Year 7), and they will be introduced to the gender roles that underpin so many of Shakespeare’s plays. Finally, the students will complete their Spoken Language presentation which is a required element for GCSE English Language.
Units:
- ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell
- ‘War and Conflict’
- ‘Romeo and Juliet’
- AQA GCSE Spoken Language presentation
Assessment:
In the first three units of the year, students complete an assessment of their ability to read and analyse through ‘The Big Question’ and they also complete an assessment of their ability to craft a composition (we focus on both fiction and non-fiction).
In the fourth unit of the year, students research, plan and perform a spoken presentation as we want our learners to be confident speakers. This presentation will be assessed as part of the accreditation for the AQA GCSE Spoken award.
Homework:
Each week, all KS3 students are expected to work through their assigned number of Sparx Reader Points on the Sparx Reader platform.