English Curriculum KS3
Overview
Our KS3 English curriculum focuses on students becoming critical readers, creative writers, and confident speakers through promoting a love of reading and writing, independent thinking, and resilience when studying classic and contemporary texts. Students explore a rich variety of British and world literature while building strong foundations in grammar, analysis, and composition. Each unit draws on prior knowledge, deepens core understanding, and develops the disciplinary skills needed for success at GCSE and beyond.
Year 7
- Autumn Term 1 - Transitional Poetry: Students explore poems about growing up and change, learning how poets use language and structure to express emotions and writing their own reflective poetry.
- Autumn Term 2 - Non-Fiction Writing: Students develop their non-fiction writing skills by creating advice articles, letters, and speeches that adapt tone and use persuasive techniques.
- Spring Term 1 - A Midsummer Night's Dream: Students are introduced to Shakespeare through this magical play, exploring themes of love and confusion while building confidence with language and drama.
- Spring Term 2 - Treasure Island: Students read and perform scenes from Treasure Island, analysing how characters, dialogue, and stage directions create action, suspense, and growth.
- Summer Term 1 - The Monkey's Paw: Students study this Gothic short story to explore how setting, suspense, and symbolism create fear and emotional tension in fiction.
- Summer Term 2 - Narrative Writing: Students write their own short stories using structure, character, and voice to create engaging narratives with emotional depth.
Year 8
- Autumn Term 1 - War Poetry: Students study modern war poetry to explore how language, tone, and structure express identity, emotion, and the impact of conflict.
- Autumn Term 2 - Non-Fiction Writing: Students write persuasive articles and speeches using rhetorical techniques and audience awareness to explore real-world themes like bravery and morality.
- Spring Term 1 - Macbeth: Students analyse Shakespeare's Macbeth, focusing on ambition, guilt, and power while developing their understanding of dramatic methods and structured analysis.
- Spring Term 2 - Noughts and Crosses: Students explore themes of racism, justice, and love through a stage adaptation of Noughts and Crosses, analysing how drama communicates powerful messages.
- Summer Term 1 - Lamb to the Slaughter: Students return to Gothic fiction, analysing how Dahl uses setting, irony, and narration to create suspense, manipulate readers, and reveal hidden emotions.
- Summer Term 2 - Narrative Writing: Students write their own short stories using advanced techniques like flashback, subtext, and flawed characters to craft powerful and emotionally rich narratives.
Year 9
Lessons will focus on the explicit teaching of reading, writing and oracy skills linked with by thematic approach, vocabulary and grammar development.
- Term One - Students will study Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
- Term Two - Students will study a range of poetry including an anthology of conflict poetry
- Term Three - Students will study An Inspector Calls
Key contact
Mrs K Traves