Key Stage 3
|
The Department offers a stimulating curriculum in Years 7, 8 and 9, which provides many opportunities for enrichment. Girls can expect to explore a Shakespeare play in each year and a range of prose and poetry, including nineteenth-century novels and more contemporary texts. They will also study a range of non-fiction and media texts, including newspapers, advertising and film. Presentations are regularly given by the girls, which can serve as useful preparation for leading roles in the whole school debate, which takes place annually, at the end of the Autumn term.
The Department is particularly encouraging of girls’ creative writing, and we place an emphasis on the acquisition of new vocabulary. Basic skills (spelling, punctuation and grammar) are taught alongside core texts in each year.
Key Stage 4
At Key Stage 4 we follow Cambridge IGCSE (0500 First Language English and 0486 Literature), which offers breadth in terms of covering a range of traditional and contemporary texts as well as a balance between coursework assignments and exams (Language: 50% exam, 50% coursework; Literature: 75% exam, 25% coursework). In Literature, girls study a range of pre and post-1914 Drama, Poetry and Prose texts. This includes at least one Shakespeare play. The Language course is assessed through a wide range of non-fiction texts and girls develop their writing skills in a number of contexts for coursework assignments, including imaginative writing.
AS and A Level
|
We follow the OCR syllabus (H071 and H471). Girls read set texts in conjunction with literary criticism, and gain a wider understanding of the period in which texts are set. 60% of the final A Level grade is determined by examination; 40% by coursework. We actively encourage girls to read as widely as possible. Many of our girls have gone on to read English at university.
© Copyright 2011 by Francis Holland School