The AGS English department maintains a creative approach to learning in Years 7 to 9.  Our aim is to foster a lifelong love of both English Literature and Language through a rich experience. The foundations of pre-GCSE study are built through a curriculum balancing the study of varied texts, grammar, creative writing and an understanding of how the English language works.   

Students receive feedback on their progress and guidance for further stretch and challenge both formatively in their lessons and at regular half-termly assessment points.

Outside lessons, students have opportunities to take part in creative writing clubs and competitions, the annual festival of English which we call ‘The Word’, and other competitions and opportunities such as Youth Speaks. Students are encouraged to read independently and widely in lessons through reading projects and the AGS Reading Challenge.

Whether through exploring the origins of English, reading stories from other worlds or cultures, or creating their own imaginative work, students learn the power of words and the confidence to use them well.

Topics include:

Year 7 (3 lessons per week)

• Autobiography
• A study of Seamus Heaney’s poetry
• Comparison of a short story and wider reading text
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Writing Spy Fiction
• A study of accents and dialects
• Campaign writing and speech

Year 8 (3 lessons per week)

• Pre-1914 prose
• 20th century drama
• A selection of poetry
• Creative writing
• Speaking and listening activities

Year 9 (4 lessons per week)

• Macbeth
• Poetry analysis and comparison
• Pre-1914 non-fiction
• Dystopian fiction
• Writing and speaking to argue
• Prose fiction
• Writing to describe and narrate