Key Stage 3
Year 7
Term 1 & 2 - New Beginnings
Changing schools and settling in? In this unit you will write and talk about your first few weeks at QK school and improve all your English skills!
Then we move onto thinking about other changes we have experienced in our lives and use our interviewing and letter writing skills to explore them.
We also enjoy a modern and best -selling novel such as Skellig or Two Weeks with the Queen.
Term 3 & 4 - Decisions, Decisions
In this unit we discover the world of advertising, food and fair trade. We read and examine different texts from the internet and other media sources. Design your own advert and fair trade product. Yum!
We then perform a play about a rather special boy… And enjoy writing your own play script.
Term 5 & 6 - The Supernatural
Enter a supernatural world of ghosts and monsters.
Through the genres of poetry, prose and non-fiction we tackle issues such as cloning and Genetic Modification. Do ghosts exist? Is cloning the way forward?
We improve our speaking and listening skills through debate and drama activities. We take on the role of scientists to see things a little differently.
Testing Time! Summer exams take place at end of term 5 to check your progress!
Year 8
Term 1 & 2 - Wish you were here?
Study all types of travel writing and brush up on your reading and writing skills with lots of fun activities: Write a travel brochure to advertise your ideal holiday. Describe your favourite holiday. Write a letter of complaint!
We also analyse how newspaper reports write and have a go at being a journalist yourself!
Term 3 & 4 - Myth and Magic
In this unit we explore the origins of fairytale and myth and think about why they are still popular by looking at a range of texts including modern cinema.
We also discover more about Shakespeare and his mind-boggling plays. Perform and imaginative modern play and write your own play script.
Term 5 & 6 - Telling Stories
Enjoy different types of stories from sci-fi to romance. In this unit we write our own genre stories for a real audience.
Testing Time! Summer exams take place at end of term 5 to check your progress!
After summer testing we continue to develop our skills as writers by reading a best- selling novel such as Holes or Face.
We also spend time with a published author who will give us top tips on how to write amazing narratives!
Year 9
Term 1 & 2 - Growing up has never been easier?
In this unit we explore the issues related to youth culture.
We tackle difficult issues such as homelessness and crime.
We improve our speaking and listening skills with a debate on controversial issues and develop our own opinions on these issues by reading a modern and best-selling novel Stone Cold.
Term 3 & 4 - Macbeth
In this unit we explore one of Shakespeare’s most gruesome plays: Macbeth!
We also use the play as way of looking at other issues such as crime and punishment and brush up on our writing skills by planning and writing our own tabloid articles!
Term 5 & 6 - Pathway Revision and move to GCSE English
This term we conclude our preparation for our Pathway exams with plenty of use of past papers and timed 5 mark questions!
When the Pathways are over we now move straight on to our GCSE English studies and kick off with a creative writing unit.
Before the year ends you will also have covered 8 poems from Different Cultures and practised planning and writing a comparative essay.
Your Move: GCSE Original Writing Coursework And Poetry from Different Cultures
Start your GCSE course with a dramatic short story and your own creative response to it!
Then, enjoy a variety of dialects and viewpoints about life in GCSE poems from Different Cultures and Traditions. Explore and celebrate your own culture too as we prepare for our GCSE English course.