English

Highlights of 2010 Results

This year’s GCSE results placed us, yet again, in the top 1% of schools nationwide as the students made such outstanding progress! 85% of Year 9 students achieving Level 5+ at the end of Key Stage 3 and 76% attaining an A*-C grade in their GCSEs is another excellent achievement by QK students and teachers, exceeding national figures! This represents an extremely pleasing set of exam results!

Current Developments

The Year 7, 8 and 9 curriculums have been fully redeveloped in-line with Government requirements, creating cutting edge teaching, learning and assessment resources. The entire GCSE English and English Literature course has been rewritten in order to create vibrant, challenging and effective lessons that respond to the requirements of the new GCSE specifications set out by exam boards. This course has been expanded to incorporate ‘Philosophy of Religion’ lessons to develop critical thinking, wider reading, formal debating skills and writing ability.

The QK English department works with the charity First Story

First Story

First Story is a charity that arranges for acclaimed authors to be writers-in-residence in state schools across the country. Each author leads weekly after-school creative writing workshops for up to sixteen Year 11 / 12 students. Over the course of an academic year, the students work to develop their writing skills and the creation of their own anthology of work. The final published piece is presented to the public at an Open House event at which the students can read their stories aloud to friends, families, publishers and agents.

First Story has been an absolutely wonderful opportunity for our students. It has been a chance for them to develop a love of language, of writing, to enjoy reading and the process of expressing themselves in a way that is so safe and so freeing. It has enabled them to discover themselves and develop this incredible talent. I am so proud of them and really grateful to be involved in First Story.

Dillena Basra, Head of English.

Read coverage of First Story from The Independent