English

The English curriculum at The Grange School is designed to inspire, challenge, and equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive both academically and personally. The purpose of English is to foster a deep understanding of language and literature, enabling students to express themselves clearly, think critically, and engage meaningfully with the world around them.

Students embark on a rich and varied journey through English, exploring a wide range of texts and media types. From classic literature such as Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and An Inspector Calls, to contemporary works like Noughts and Crosses and Trash, the curriculum celebrates diversity in voice, genre, and perspective. This exposure helps students appreciate different cultures, viewpoints, and historical contexts.

A strong emphasis is placed on structuring writing and organising ideas effectively. Students learn to craft coherent arguments, develop analytical responses, and refine their creative writing skills. The curriculum also includes a wealth of non-fiction texts, such as speeches and opinion pieces, which help students build essential skills in persuasion, evaluation, and real-world communication; skills that are invaluable for later life.

Complementing the classroom experience is the tutor time reading programme, where students are introduced to 20 new texts each term. This initiative broadens their literary horizons, fosters a love of reading, and supports vocabulary development across all subjects.

Our current canon of books is below:  

Year 7

The Odyssey by Homer

Trash by Andy Mulligan

Richard III by William Shakespeare

Year 8

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Year 9

Blood Brothers by Willy Russell

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Year 10

"Register, Read and Respond" - students responding to a number of non-fiction texts.

Home Learning

All students are set home learning in English on a weekly basis.

KS3: Every week, students are set Reading Plus which is designed to improve reading speed, vocabulary and inference skills, and to motivate and engage students.

KS4: Weekly home learning is to be done on-line wherever possible using either Seneca for revision of literature texts or MS Forms to revise key concepts and language skills.