English

KS4 English Curriculum Intent

The English curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils develop a life-long love for literature that offers a world view beyond the limits of his or her own current experiences. We intend that our students have an appreciation of our rich and broad cultural heritage, whilst increasing their empathy for the vulnerable or marginalised through reading. Above all, we want our students to leave Holmesdale with a love of word and a delight in the English Language.

By the end of Key Stage Four, the English curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Become resilient and resourceful learners with a ‘can do’ attitude
• Understand explicit and implicit meanings in a range of literary heritage and modern texts
• Make connections across these texts
• Realise the importance of context in understanding a writer’s purpose
• Use skimming, scanning and summarising skills to understand main ideas in a text
• Comment/explain/analyse language use and evaluate ideas and perspective
• Write effectively to audience and purpose
• Use standard English
• Generate ideas, plan and write coherently
• Use grammar correctly, punctuate and spell accurately
• Develop and use a wide vocabulary from tier two and three word lists
• Listen to and understand spoken language, and use spoken Standard English effectively

Key Stage 4 - English Overview