English
Department ethos:–The English Department at Commonweal aims to give children a wider perspective of the world around them through studying a range of literary and media texts. Pupils study a range of literature from Shakespeare to contemporary works; they also focus on literature from different cultures and traditions.
We aim to nurture pupils as independent readers, who can analyse literary techniques and their intended effects. Above all we hope to instil a love of reading and writing in all pupils to help them to communicate in a confident and cogent style.Supporting the school’s specialism:- The English faculty supports the school’s Performing Arts status in a variety of ways. One key aspect of the departments input is through a wide variety of speaking and listening and drama activities.
We organise trips to theatres and host visiting theatre workshops. Every year we successfully participate in the Swindon Literature Festival’s
Poetry Slam.
Much of the literature studied in both KS3 and KS4 lends itself particularly well to drama focused activities. Both staff and pupils engage with enthusiasm when participating in active
learning projects.
Links to outside agencies:- The English Department have good links with other schools in Swindon and we work closely with Swindon’s English consultant. For example, this year, meetings for Swindon’s KS3 co-ordinators have focused on improving SATs results across the borough.
We also take part in relevant annual activities, for example, ‘The GCSE Poetry Road Show’, aimed at improving GCSE results.
Our primary school links are very strong and much liaison is done during the year 7 transfer.
Also through Josie Williams we are connected to the annual ‘Literature festival’.
The department has links to the Swindon based branch of teacher training called SCITT. Every year we mentor an English trainee teacher.Department successes:-Over recent years the English Faculty’s results have dramatically improved and are among the highest in the borough.
We have won the Swindon Poetry Slam competition for two years and came second and third place
this year.
This year, GCSE students were offered the opportunity of an ‘in-house’ revision session prior to each of the three exams. All revision sessions were successful and well organised.
We regularly take on the responsibility of training new English teachers through the Swindon SCITT teacher training course. This extends outside links and
keeps the department up to date with recent trends
in pedagogy.
Useful web addresses:-
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revision
www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/english
www.universalteacher.org.uk/default.htm
www.bristol-cyps.org.uk/teaching/
secondary/english/englishs.html
Paired Reading is delivered by Y10, who are trained volunteers, to Y7s who are invited to participate. 60 students meet after school on Thursdays.
