English at Malet Lambert explores a series of texts that spark engagement and academically challenge pupils. Pupils are able to enrich their communication skills and develop their opinions and perceptions when reading a novel, play or poem thus helping them prepare for life after Malet Lambert.
Facilities
As a department we have laptop trolleys available on each floor to use within lessons as well as use of the Learning Resource Centre, which is situated next to the English department.
Key stage 3 lessons include regular scheduled use of the LRC as part of the department’s schemes of learning.
Courses
In Years 10 and 11, all pupils study for the AQA GCSE English Language (8700) and GCSE English Literature (8702).
Both qualifications are 100% exam-based, with two examinations for each subject. English Language comprises Paper 1 (Explorations in Creative Writing) and Paper 2 (Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives).
Speaking and Listening is endorsed separately as a non-examination component.
English Literature comprises Paper 1 (Shakespeare and the Nineteenth-Century Novel) and Paper 2 (Modern Texts and Poetry).
The KS3 curriculum exposes pupils to a variety of different writers from different time periods to give pupils the diversity enrichment and skills they need to succeed in an ever changing world. The KS3 curriculum also prepares pupils for the specific demands of the new GCSE specifications and beyond.
Extra Curricular
We have a dedicated team of teachers who cover a range of extra curricular activities to encourage creative writing across all years. When pupils reach KS4, there are a series of revision sessions in place to help pupils achieve their full potential and opportunities for pupils to see a theatre production of some of the texts they will cover for their GCSE.