English
Aims
We are committed to offering our pupils a wide-ranging curriculum experience which fosters a positive attitude towards English and English Literature. We are dedicated to raising aspirations and achievements amongst our pupils and work hard together as a team to achieve this.
Our Teachers
Within our team of eight teachers, we have a range of teaching experience and expertise. Our most recent OFSTED report described our teachers as "creative and imaginative" and the quality of our teaching as "consistently very good". We are proud of the way our department has developed over recent years and of the high quality learning experiences that we offer to our pupils.
Results
The department's success was recognised in our most recent OFSTED report which acknowledged that provision in English at all levels is "very good" and that pupils at all levels "achieve very well in relation to their prior attainment". We have an excellent track record of results at all Key Stages. Our summer 2006 results have been our most successful to date and reflect our commitment to sustaining improvement; 86% of Year 9 pupils attained a L5+ in their KS3 SATs; 74% of our Year 11 pupils gained an A* to C grade in English GCSE, whilst 87% of them achieved an A* to C grade in English Literature.
Organisation
The department is housed in the main school block, with contiguous classrooms. Each classroom is fitted with its own wall mounted television and video. We are hoping to be equipped with two interactive white boards for the start of the next academic year.
Groupings
At the start of Year 7, pupils are taught in their mixed ability tutor groups until the end of term in October. At that point, we group them broadly according to their ability. We use a variety of information to allocate their groups, including evidence of their prior attainment and of their current performance. Pupils remain in broadly banded groups during their English lessons at Ralph Allen but these sets are reviewed regularly to ensure that pupils are appropriately placed.
Key Stage 3
In Year 7 pupils are allocated 7 hours of English per fortnight; this changes to 6 hours per fortnight in Year 8 and Year 9. Following a systematic review of our Key Stage 3 Curriculum, we are very pleased with the range of opportunites that our Key Stage 3 programme of study offers pupils. More information about the specific units of work can be found on our other pages.
Key Stage 4
In Year 10 and Year 11 pupils are allocated 7 hours of English per fortnight. During this time, almost all pupils follow a programme of study that prepares them for dual entry in both English GCSE and English Literature GCSE. We have been following the WJEC syllabuses for English and English Literature since September 2002. More information about the specific units of work can be found on our other pages.
Key Stage 5
We offer three different AS and A2 subjects for study in the 6th form and in recent years we have experienced real growth in numbers in all of our courses. We follow AQA Specification A for English Literature, AQA Specification B for English Language and the WJEC syllabus for Film Studies.
Enrichment Experiences
We continue to offer a wide range of enrichment experiences in all Key Stages. These include:
- Key Stage 3 Reading Group.
- Key Stage 3 Creative Writing Group.
- Regular entrants and winners in the regional Poetry Slam Competition.
- Visits from theatre companies to support preparation of Year 9 Shakespeare text.
- Visiting authors talking about their books and the writing process.
- Collaboration with Bath Literary Festival enabling groups of pupils to work with published authors.
- Regular theatre visits, particularly for 6th form English Literature students.
- Attendance at 6th form conferences to support revision and preparation for exams.
- Cinema visits, particularly for 6th form Film Studies students.
