Our Year 8/9 English curriculum combines breadth, depth, and progression. Students in this mixed class encounter a carefully chosen range of literature from Orwell’s political allegory and essays, to Shakespeare’s comedy, Dickens’ Victorian morality tale, and a cluster of modern and classic poetry. Alongside these, they read global nonfiction voices such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Chinua Achebe.
The curriculum is designed to be academically rigorous (emphasising close reading, extended essays, comparison, and unseen texts), fully aligned with the National Curriculum (covering Shakespeare, 19th-century literature, modern texts, poetry, and nonfiction), and deliberately aspirational (building independence, adaptability, and critical reflection). At the same time, it is character-focused, using literature’s big questions to develop empathy, integrity, courage, and patience.
Because this is a combined class, outcomes are differentiated: Year 8 students consolidate and strengthen foundations, while Year 9 students extend into comparative analysis, unseen work, and more sustained writing bridging securely into GCSE.
Core Texts (Year in Brief)
Term 1: Power, Politics, and Language
- Core text: Animal Farm – George Orwell
- Supporting texts: Orwell essays (Politics and the English Language, Shooting an Elephant, Why I Write)
- Focus: allegory, propaganda, truth, and the power of language
Term 2: Justice, Authority, and Imagination
- Core text: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – William Shakespeare
- Supporting texts: Martin Luther King Jr. (Letter from Birmingham Jail, extracts); Nelson Mandela (I Am Prepared to Die, extracts); Chinua Achebe (Civil Peace)
- Focus: justice, law vs. mercy, leadership, imagination, and love
Term 3: Society, Transformation, and Resilience
- Core text: A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
- Poetry cluster:
- London – William Blake
- Ozymandias – Percy Bysshe Shelley
- Dulce et Decorum Est – Wilfred Owen
- Tissue – Imtiaz Dharker
- Home – Warsan Shire
- Praise Song for My Mother – Grace Nichols
- Focus: social change, resilience, legacy, identity, and redemption
Outcomes
Because this is a combined Year 8/9 class, outcomes are set with progression in mind. Students are supported to close learning gaps where necessary while moving forward at a pace that prepares them securely for GCSE.
- Year 8 students will:
- Strengthen reading, writing, vocabulary, and oracy foundations.
- Build confidence with extended writing and practise the first steps of comparative analysis.
- Engage with Shakespeare, Dickens, and modern texts at an accessible level.
- Improve accuracy in grammar, sentence structure, and written expression.
- Grow in empathy, patience, and integrity through discussion of literature’s themes.
- Year 9 students will:
- Consolidate prior skills while extending into sustained analysis and comparative essays.
- Practise unseen reading and thematic evaluation across genres.
- Deepen engagement with Shakespeare and 19th-century literature in preparation for GCSE study.
- Refine academic vocabulary and grammar for clarity and precision.
- Strengthen resilience, self-control, and independence through grappling with complex texts and ideas.
Cost: £1100 per year, payable in 10 monthly instalments of £110.00.
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