Welcome to Beaumont School English Department!

Many people can trace their lifelong love of literature and language back to their experience of studying English at school, and Beaumont pupils and ex-pupils are no exception to this.

Aims

Our aim is to develop each pupil's potential  for handling language in all  its forms for communication, self-expression, understanding and for pleasure.

In common with other departments at Beaumont, we share a commitment to achievement and excellence in all we do.  We have high expectations of our pupils and we encourage them to experience the satisfaction that comes from working hard to achieve goals.

Curriculum

All pupils follow a broad and progressive course which integrates language and literature in learning.  In Years 7 and 8 pupils are taught in their form groups.  As pupils move into Year 9 they are placed into mixed ability groupings which are regrouped for the GCSE course in Year 10.  We try to ensure that they work with the same teacher in both years of the GCSE course.

The department uses a variety of teaching and learning styles, catering for the full range of needs and expectations throughout the school.  Support for pupils' learning is provided, where necessary, by specialist staff within the classroom.  All pupils are required to undertake homework on a regular basis.

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)

We follow schemes of work which address the national curriculum Units of study include Poetry, Story - Telling, Shakespeare, and Dickens as well as Travel Writing and Media. All students participate in a public speaking competition, theatre visits and the children's book project where a book is produced for a primary school child.

In Year 7 pupils study a range of class texts, through which they begin to develop the skills of literary analysis, effective quotation and evaluation of characterisation.  They begin, also, to learn basic poetic techniques to enable them to develop the critical abilities required in examinations.  We are also keen to ensure that the fundamental skills of spelling, punctuation and grammar are firmly established before pupils progress to their GCSE examinations.  In Years 8 and 9, pupils study at least two works of Shakespeare, thus providing the basis for more detailed study at GCSE level.  The courses are based on the National Literacy Strategy.
 
From Year 7 onwards, all pupils begin to use Information Technology as part of their everyday work in English and they have regular access to the computer room in order to practise their skills.  We encourage the reading habit through regular library visits and our own enthusiasm.  The annual Readathon also encourages independent, structured reading, whilst raising a substantial amount of money for children’s charities.  We also hope to ensure that all Year 7 students visit the theatre.

For a summary of the curriculum in a particular KS3 school year you can download the relevant Year Course Booklet by clicking on these links:
Year 7 course booklet
Year 8 course booklet
Year 9 course booklet

Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)

Students work towards GCSEs in English and English Literature and study a wide range of prose, poetry, and drama, non-fiction texts and media texts. They also learn to undertake critical analyses of the texts and to develop an awareness of their social, historical and cultural contexts and influences on them.

For details of the GCSE syllabus click below:
GCSE 2008-2010 syllabus
GCSE 2009-2011 syllabus

You can also obtain details of the course and coursework deadlines etc from the relevant Year Course Booklet by clicking on these links:
Year 10 course booklet
Year 11 course booklet

Years 12 and 13 (Sixth Form)

English Literature is a popular choice in the Sixth form. For details of all courses on offer at Key Stage 5 go to the BeauSandVer consortium website.

Assessment

Assessment of pupils' progress and achievements in Years 7 - 9 is continuous and incorporates tasks done under controlled conditions, end of year examinations and self assessment.  As they move into Years 10 and 11, pupils will prepare for GCSE examinations where their final grades will depend on both examination and written and oral coursework results.

Resources

English students are able to draw on the excellent resources of our school Library where a wide variety of fiction books, magazines, DVDs, newspapers and audio books are available. There is an extensive non-fiction collection covering all areas of the curriculum including a reference section and a comprehensive archive of relevant newspaper articles. There are networked computers for use by all school pupils

Visits and Extra Curricular Activities

Educational visits are an important part of what we have on offer in English at Beaumont.  There is an extensive and well-established programme of theatre visits.  For example, in recent times pupils in Year 7 have visited "Wicked" at The Apollo and Year 8 pupils "Twelfth Night" at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.  Year 10 have taken part in workshops on "Romeo and Juliet" provided by a theatre group.  At GCSE and 'A' Level, trips are organised to assist with and complement the set examination drama texts, for example a whole day in Cambridge on a ‘Poetry Live’ Day.  We hold an annual whole school public speaking competition.  We also take part in local and national debating competitions such as Youth Speaks and the English Speaking Union competition. Visiting Poets and Authors give talks and performances in the school Library which help to bring literature alive for our students. Theatre trips for Years 12 and 13 have included “Twelfth Night” at Stratford, and “The Woman in Black” at the Fortune Theatre.  They have also had the opportunity to attend external lectures on set texts.

The English Team