All students in Year 11 take GCSEs in both English Language and English Literature.
Our girls are naturally interested in communication. We nurture this interest, supporting it with technical skills and a wider appreciation of literature. In Years 7 to 9 students learn how to use a variety of writing styles, look at text in different media and non fiction; consider poetry, prose and theatre writing, and hone their own skills in a range of speaking and listening activities. Taking an active part in class is essential. Most of our students are voracious readers and many are gifted writers. We encourage them to share their ideas with each other and continue to expand their fiction and non-fiction reading tastes.
Stratford Girls’ Grammar School Year 8 Kids’ Lit Quiz Team hit the National Final of the event held at The City of London School on December 4th. Elodie, Eloise, Heather and Issy have been preparing for this day for the past term. Weekly quiz rounds held under the literary tutelage of English Teacher Mrs Emma Bradley have been more akin to Olympic training than a quiz about books! Having won their regional round of the event held in October, the girls were ready for the bright lights and smoke of London where they faced nineteen other teams from across the country.
Mrs Bradley commented, ‘What was so fabulous about the whole day was the buzz about books; the competitive excitement about reading.’
The day was crowned by an address from Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell (author of the best selling How to Train a Dragon series). The girls were able to meet with her personally and chat about writing and reading.
Pictured are Elodie, Eloise, Heather and Issy with Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell.
Students in Years 7-9 can expect to study the following:
Year Group
Reading
Writing
Speaking and Listening
Assessments
Year 7
Modern Prose Study
Non-fiction/Media
The Short Story
Shakespeare/ Drama
Pre and Post Twentieth Century Poetry
Close Reading Extract Study – How do writers create character?
Descriptive writing
Story writing
Speech writing
Letter writing
Autobiographical writing
Newspaper/magazine article writing
Leaflet writing
Poetry writing
Analytical/evaluative essay writing
The art of group discussion
Individual presentations
The art of persuasion
Year 7 will have 6 formal assessments throughout the year.
These assessments will focus on reading, writing and speaking skills taught across the course.
Students also undertake the Hathaway extended project
One end of year examination is sat in the summer term.
Year 8
Writers’ Viewpoints and perspectives – Journeys
Close analysis extracts – non-fiction and fiction
Poetry – themed anthology – pre and post 20th century
The Novel
Shakespeare/Modern Drama
Short Story
Descriptive writing
Speech writing
Newspaper/magazine
Leaflet writing
Analytical/evaluative essay writing
Comparative essay writing
The art of rhetoric
Whole class debating
Individual presentations
Year 8 will have 6 formal assessments throughout the year.
These assessments will focus on reading, writing and speaking skills taught across the course.
One end of year examination is sat in the summer term.
Year 9
Dystopia/The Gothic/Project Society
The Novel
Shakespeare/Modern Drama
Non-Fiction Comparative Extracts pre and post 20th century
Year 9 will have 6 formal assessments throughout the year.
These assessments will focus on reading, writing and speaking skills taught across the course.
Students complete their AQA GCSE English Language NEA Speaking and Listening Assessment in the summer term of Year 9
One end of year written examination is also sat in the summer term.
English Language (AQA 8700)
Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing – reading questions based on an unseen passage from a literature text and a descriptive or narrative based writing task. 1hr 45min exam (50% of the total marks)
Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives – reading questions based upon one unseen non-fiction and one unseen literary non-fiction text and a piece of writing to express a viewpoint. 1hr 45 min (50% of the total marks)
Non-Exam Assessment: Spoken Language – students will be asked to deliver a presentation to an audience and respond effectively to questioning using Standard English. This non-examined assessment will take place at the end of Year 9.
English Literature (AQA 8702)
Paper 1: Shakespeare and the 19th- century novel – students will write two extended essays based upon extracts from one Shakespeare text and one 19th-century novel. 1hr 45min (40% of the total marks)
Paper 2: Modern Texts and Poetry – students will write one essay on a modern prose or drama text, followed by a comparative essay based upon anthology poetry and a response to an unseen poem. 2hr 15 min (60% of marks)
An outline of the course is as follows:
Autumn Term
Spring Term
Summer Term
Year 10
English Literature Paper 2: An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
English Language Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing (Reading focus)
Poems Past and Present (Power & Conflict x 9 poems)
English Language Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives (Reading focus)
English Literature Paper 1: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
English Language Paper 1: Explorations in Creative Reading & Writing (Writing focus)
English Language Paper 2: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives (Writing focus)
Poems Past and Present (Power & Conflict x 6 poems)
Year 11
English Literature Paper 1: 19th Century Novel Study
English Literature Paper 2: Approaches to Unseen Poetry
English Literature Paper 2: Revision of Comparative Power and Conflict Poetry
All students in Year 11 take GCSEs in both English Language and English Literature.