English

Intent – why do we teach what we teach in English? 

English has a central place in our education system and in wider society. Ability in English is of great value as well as being integral to advancement in all other realms of study. Because of this, we aim to provide a curriculum that will ensure children leave our school with the ability to speak, read and write fluently and accurately. We equip our pupils with the tools to discuss, debate and form valid judgements. We believe that when children leave our doors, they do so as confident readers, analytical thinkers and empathetic citizens capable of engaging critically with the world around them.

We provide students with a knowledge-rich curriculum that focuses on writing for different purposes, analytical thinking and creativity, and that has an explicit focus on building vocabulary and continuous self-reflection embedded into every lesson. This provides students with the high-level literacy skills they will need to express themselves fluently and articulately in their school lives and into adulthood.

Implementation – How do we teach English? 

In Early Years, students begin to develop the tools necessary for literacy and language development that they will carry with them through their time at Chobham and beyond. They learn the building blocks of reading and writing through phonics, the mechanics of writing by studying different text types, and by engaging with ideas through reading and discussing stories. They further develop this core knowledge through KS1 by engaging with increasingly challenging texts and literacy skills, such as identifying word classes and developing their understanding of how language works in both written and spoken forms. They also study the meaning of purpose in literature, and how writers shape their work depending on the audience or text, so that by the time they reach KS2, our students are already keen writers with a strong grasp of core literacy skills. They build on these skills by studying poetry and developing their knowledge of writing for purpose, effectively preparing them for the transition to KS3, and secondary school.

At KS3 study, students learn how to develop their ability in English with the addition of analytical writing to their skillset. Students learn how to analyse texts through various social, political and personal lenses and are taught to view literature as a way of interpreting the world around them, expressing themselves and understanding the experiences of others. They develop empathetic and critical viewpoints in their writing, alongside learning the features of narrative structure, creative writing and writing for purpose. Crucially, they develop comparative skills which enable them to identify, explain and analyse different perspectives and methods in texts.

When students get to KS4, they bring all of their prior knowledge together in order to write for their GCSE exams. Students learn how to produce essay responses, using advanced analysis of language, form and structure in both poetry and prose. They focus on comparison of ideas, analysis of language and structure and understanding context. Students who choose to study literature at KS5 develop these skills further with analysis of complex literary themes, genre, form and purpose.

Finally, at all levels of learning throughout the academy, reading is the cornerstone of everything we do. Engaging every day with a range of high-quality texts is a fundamental part of the English curriculum at Harris Academy Chobham, and we foster a love of reading for its own sake, as well as develop confident, passionate readers who can talk and write convincingly about what they have read. We are devoted to ensuring our young people are allowed the freedom to explore a diverse range of texts and schemes of work that produce well-rounded and confident readers, writers, orators and thinkers. Through these deliberate text choices, we aim to equip pupils with high degrees of empathy for people and situations beyond the limits of their own experiences, and effectively prepare them for life beyond education.