Curriculum Intent

We believe that students at Lipson deserve a broad and ambitious English curriculum, rich in skills and knowledge, which ignites curiosity and prepares them well for future learning or employment. Our English curriculum will give students the opportunity to:

• Find pleasure and joy in reading a wide variety of texts;
• Be able to evaluate and analyse the creative choices that writers have made;

• Read complex passages confidently and methodically, in order to break down the language and structure to establish and analyse meaning;
• Enjoy a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts which help them to connect with the world around them;
• Develop cultural capital that will help remove barriers to achievement in school, future learning and the world of work;
• Write clearly, fluently and accurately, showing flair and creativity;
• Develop detailed ideas in writing, adapting language to audience and purpose;
• Use a wide range of appropriate and ambitious vocabulary with precision;
• Produce ‘beautiful work’ of which they can be proud;
• Articulate and express their ideas, views and opinions about a wide range of topics clearly, confidently and respectfully.

This is a full seven-year curriculum that fluently structures the knowledge and skills of students from KS2 all the way to A level – with interleaving between KS3, 4 and 5. The link for the English Curriculum Overview Plan is below. This highlights how we plan long-term for progress and the development of skills/knowledge from KS2 right through to Year 13. This enables the students to know, and understand, the sequencing and hence, the process of their learning.

Curriculum Overview (Click here)

Our Curriculum Learning Pathway

English Curriculum Pathway (PDF)

Meet the Team

The English team are all subject specialists who are passionate about high quality, supportive, ambitious and challenging English curriculum for all.

• Aimee Toze- Head of English
• Claire Ford- Second in English
• Rosie Askew- Second in English
• Vikki Cargin- English Teacher and whole school Research Lead
• Belle Alexander- Teacher of English
• Sophie Borbon- Teacher of English
• Lucy Bowden- Teacher of English
• Mark Hicks- Teacher of English
• Claire Jones- Teacher of English (Deputy Head resp. for Teaching & Learning)
• Maddie Leeder- Teacher of English
• Katherine Madge- Teacher of English

Our Curriculum

This is a full seven-year curriculum that fluently structures the knowledge and skills of students from KS2 all the way to A level – with interleaving between KS3, 4 and 5- as highlighted in the overview plan above. We ensure students develop critical thinking skills and the ability to interrogate what they read, with a thirst for life-long reading. Our students are comprehensively trained to write in a sophisticated but clear way and communicate with fluency and empathy. English as a subject nurtures the whole individual, ready for adulthood.

Transition & building on KS2

 As highlighted in the curriculum overview, we build on the foundations of technical and grammatical skills that students learn in KS2. In a supportive environment students undergo a learning process that engenders flare, creativity and originality but only underpinned by KS2 skills but clearly sequenced through their journey at Lipson.

Key Stage 3

Key Stage 3 at Lipson seeks to widen students’ cultural capital through bringing them into contact with a range of genres and themes, including dystopian novels and political ideas. For example, in Year 7 students study ‘The Giver’, a novel closely based on 1984 which teaches students about authority, freedom, control and systems in which societies can operate. Alongside this innovative content students learn analytical and written skills with careful guidance and modelling. However, at Lipson students are never limited in their own expression the modelling and guidance is the starting point on which they build towards independent origination.

Key Stage 4

Study of the GCSE content begins in Year 10. The un-tiered exams lift the lid on progression for all students. We teach to the top in every class, with a team that are both ambitious in their teaching but also ambitious in their intentions for students. Clear scaffolding supports students at all levels to progress. In English Literature we continue to add to the cultural capital developed at KS 3 through studying history and politics in an Inspector Calls, power and conflict in poetry and hierarchical dynamics in prose and Shakespeare. Our English Language teaching consistently reinforces concepts, grammatical skills and the deepening of vocabulary that been sequenced from KS3.

Key Stage 5

Our English specialists are thoroughly prepared to enter degree level study as confident and critical students. Through extensive engagement with critical theory, they build on the skill of formulating original interpretations that they developed at GCSE. Through the study of Othello, students grapple with contemporary issues of race, prejudice and power. The Love through the Ages module engenders a nuanced and comprehensive knowledge of dynamics of control within relationships and across history. The Modern Literature Study frames an informed approach to 20th century social and political shifts. Progress in that century was so rapid that it can seem to blur, however, through focused interrogation of literature students entangle conflict and ideas. This curriculum shapes a cultured and aware young individual ready to participate on an equal footing in higher education. 

What Examination Courses do we follow?

 We study for AQA English Language and Literature and AQA A level English Literature option A.

Curriculum Impact- How do you measure attainment and progress?

In English, assessment happens in many ways. Books are marked regularly, with informal comments and target setting taking place. We also encourage students to peer and self-assess their own work. On a more formal basis, students are assessed during every scheme of work based on the End Point Plans.

We assess students in Language based on the following assessment objectives: 

• AO1:
  • identify and interpret explicit and implicit information and ideas
  • select and synthesise evidence from different texts
• AO2: Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support their views
• AO3: Compare writers’ ideas and perspectives, as well as how these are conveyed, across two or more texts
• AO4: Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate textual references
• AO5: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences. Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion of texts
• AO6: Candidates must use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation. (This requirement must constitute 20% of the marks for each specification as a whole.)
• AO7: Demonstrate presentation skills in a formal setting
• AO8: Listen and respond appropriately to spoken language, including to questions and feedback on presentations
• AO9: Use spoken Standard English effectively in speeches and presentations.

We assess students in Literature based on the following Assessment Objectives:

• AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts. Students should be able to:
  • maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response
  • use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.
• AO2: Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using relevant subject terminology where appropriate.
• AO3: Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were written.
• AO4: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation.

How do we enrich our subject outside the classroom?

At Lipson literacy is the main thread through our Teaching & Learning strategy and the influence of the English department therefore is crucial. 

We develop life long readers through careful selection of engaging and diverse texts- this also is developed whole school through both the coaching process and Guided Reading.

The Brilliant Club and Reading group evolved from the English faculty. 

Useful Websites

• https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english
• https://www.bl.uk/ British Library website