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Years 7-9

The AGS English department maintains a creative approach to learning in Years 7 to 9.  Our aim is to foster a lifelong love of both English Literature and Language through a rich experience. The foundations of pre-GCSE study are built through a curriculum balancing the study of varied texts, grammar, creative writing and an understanding of how the English Language works.   

Students receive feedback on their progress and guidance for further stretch and challenge both formatively in their lessons and at regular half-termly assessment points.

Students are encouraged to read independently and widely in lessons through reading projects and the Library Reading Challenge.  This is supported by lists of suggested reading which are accessible to both parents and students.

Recent extracurricular activities have included Young Writers’ groups, national writing competitions, author visits, book awards, theatre trips and poetry workshops.

Homework in Years 7-9 supports the curriculum and and students’ in-depth knowledge of the subject.  This might consist of a range of tasks, including independent learning projects, mastery of basic skills and knowledge, wider reading and other related activities.

Units of work might include:

Year 7 (3 lessons per week)

  • Autobiography
  • A study of Seamus Heaney’s poetry
  • Comparison of a short story and wider reading text
  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  • Writing Spy Fiction
  • A study of accents and dialects
  • Campaign writing and speech

Year 8 (2 lessons per week)

  • Pre-1914 prose
  • 20th century drama
  • A selection of poetry
  • Creative writing
  • Speaking and listening activities

Year 9 (3 lessons per week)

  • Macbeth
  • Poetry analysis and comparison
  • Pre-1914 non-fiction
  • Dystopian fiction
  • Writing and speaking to argue
  • Prose fiction
  • Writing to describe and narrate