Overview
The English curriculum at Newfield is structured chronologically to give pupils a clear understanding of how literature has changed over time. This approach allows pupils to make links across units, as well as across the years they study English at Newfield, building a strong foundation for their studies at GCSE and beyond. Context is highly valued within our curriculum, as we believe it is vital for pupils to understand the circumstances from which a text arises. This includes not only the historical background of a text, but also its social commentary and literary criticism.
At the core of our subject are the transformative skills of reading and writing, which enable pupils to access and create a wide range of texts for different purposes and genres. We aim to establish fluent reading, writing, and oracy skills for all pupils through the explicit teaching of vocabulary and comprehension.
Pupils study a Shakespeare play every year at Key Stage 3 at Newfield. They also explore a broad range of genres, from Greek mythology to contemporary novels and short stories. At Key Stage 4, pupils follow the AQA English Language and Literature curriculum and are awarded two GCSEs by the end of Year 11.
Year 7
Autumn 1 – Myths and epics
Autumn 2 – Epic poems: The Odyssey
Spring 1 – Renaissance and romantic poetry
Spring 2 – Wit and wisdom: ‘Much Ado About Nothing’
Summer 1 – Gothic creations
Summer 2 – ‘The Woman in Black’
Year 8
Autumn 1 – voices through time (non-fiction)
Autumn 2 – ‘Macbeth’
Spring 1 – Victorian poetry
Spring 2 – Victorian novel
Summer 1 – Dystopian fiction
Summer 2 – Contemporary short stories
Year 9
Autumn 1 – Poetry through time – pre 20th century
Autumn 2 – ‘Julius Caesar’
Spring 1 – Rhetoric
Spring 2 – ‘Animal Farm’
Summer 1 – Explorations in creative reading and writing
Summer 2 – Poetry through time – post 20th century
Year 10
Autumn 1 – ‘Lord of the Flies’
Autumn 2 – Power and Conflict Poetry
Spring 1 – ‘Macbeth’
Spring 2 – Explorations in creative reading and writing
Summer 1 – Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives
Summer 2 – Spoken language endorsement; unseen poetry
Year 11
Autumn 1 – ‘Frankenstein’
Autumn 2 – ‘Macbeth’; ‘Lord of the Flies’; power and conflict poetry
Spring 1 – Language and literature paper 1
Spring 2 – Language and literature paper 2
Summer 1 – Revision
Exam board
AQA GCSE English Language (8700)
GCSE English 8700 | Specification | AQA
AQA GCSE English Literature (8702)