The English Department at AAESS aims to
engender in each student a love for Literature and, within his
or her personal boundaries, knowledge of how to write the most
interesting and accurate English possible. To that end, we set
the students according to their ability so we can provide extra
help for those students who may need it and challenge the more
academic. Students can move freely between sets, as best suits
their needs.
We use group work, role play, Power Point presentations, videos,
art work, use of the Computer Laboratory, individual whiteboards
and much discussion to make the lessons more enjoyable.
All students are encouraged to read and there is a recommended
reading list for all Key Stages in the Library.
We take part in any suitable competitions such as public
speaking and private writing by the students is actively
encouraged.
CURRICULUM
In Key Stage 3 the curriculum is split into 6 units of work for
each year. Each of the units includes an assessed, levelled
essay. Skills are revisited and built upon over the three years
leading to the Key Stage 3 SATS examination. We study texts
ranging from classics such as Chaucer, Shakespeare and Charles
Dickens to the more modern Willy Russell and Carol Ann Duffy.
In Year 9, after the SATS examination, we try to provide a
bridge between KS3 and KS4 by doing two of the easier pieces of
GCSE Coursework.
In Key Stage 4 the students are prepared for the Edexcel GCSE
English Literature examination and the Cambridge IGCSE English
Language examination or the Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second
Language examination.
Coursework is submitted as 50% of the
English Language examination (comprising of 3 essays) and 30% of
the Literature examination (comprising of 3 essays). All
coursework should be completed by the end of the Winter Term of
Year 11.
In Key Stage 5 the students can study for the Cambridge AS Level
English Language Examination which is a natural development of
the language work they have done at KS4. In the first paper of
the examination they have to be able to analyse a text and write
in the same style or manipulate the information in one text to
use it in a different text style; in the second paper they have
to write both a creative essay and a persuasive essay to a very
high standard. Needless to say, this course involves much
private reading if the students are to produce a more mature
style and be able to analyse in greater depth than that required
for IGCSE.
