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ENGLISH

OVERVIEW

WHY STUDY ENGLISH?

Let these famous people answer for you…

“Express yourself!” Madonna

“Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery.” Mark Amidon

“Public speaking is the art of having everybody thinking you are talking to them.” Dennis Van Gerven

“The more I read, the more I wanted to write. My imagination grew…” Kenneth Branagh

“A person who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill.” Jane Austen

“If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur.” Doug Larson

 “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. ( Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read).” Groucho Marx

 “The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.” Derek Walcott

“I had my first trip to the theatre…They were there, actually in front of me, being. There was no other word for it. Magic.” Kenneth Branagh

MEET THE STAFF

Mrs. B. Butler

Mr. G. Cowan

Mrs. A. Fry

Ms. Z. Holmes

Mrs. L. Matthews

AIMS

We want to…

  • Enable students to use English in its written and spoken forms, with a care for content, accuracy and appropriateness;
  • Develop the ability of students to engage with, respond to and enjoy poetry, prose and drama;
  • Encourage students to understand and respond imaginatively and sensitively to what they hear, read and experience in a variety of media;
  • Assist students to explore the cultures and experiences of their own and other societies, leading to emotional and intellectual growth and,
  • Lay the foundations which will equip our students to take their place in adult life.

ABOVE ALL… we want you to be able to make English work for YOU!

KEY STAGE 3

At KS3 we follow the Revised Curriculum for Northern Ireland.

English is a subject which is:

  1. Holistic (the separate skills you learn all enhance the subject as a whole)
  2. Heuristic (it is based on experience and by DOING)
  3. Recursive (you improve by revisiting / practising the same sort of task!)

YEAR 8

  • All About Me
  • Character
  • Media
  • Preparation for KHS winter exam
  • Drama
  • Genres and novel extracts – openings / narration / writing on
  • Instructions
  • Explanations
  • Preparation for KHS summer exams

YEAR 9

  • Writer’s craft – setting, atmosphere and character
  • Creative writing
  • Persuasion
  • Film / trailers
  • Preparation for KHS winter exam
  • Recount
  • Report
  • Poetry – ballads
  • Writer’s craft and comprehension skills
  • Preparation for KHS summer exam

YEAR 10

  • Drama text – analysis of language and dramatic techniques
  • Creative writing
  • Preparation for KHS winter exam.
  • Persuasion revisited – speeches / letters / articles
  • Writer’s Craft
  • The Study of Spoken Language
  • Media – still and moving images
  • Preparation for KHS summer exam

KEY STAGE 4

GCSE English Language

English Language subject description at GCSE Level.

GCSE English Literature

English Literature subject description at AS / A Level.

KEY STAGE 5

A Level English Literature

English Literature subject description at AS / A Level.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The KHS English Department has a strong tradition of Public Speaking, with competition success at all ages. Our teams have been UK finalists 5 times in the Business and Professional Women’s Public Speaking Competition –  once as runners-up, twice as winners, with 6 individual awards. A KHS pupil has also won BPW Best Speaker in Ireland.