English
Welcome to the English department
Curriculum Intention and Aims
English empowers individuals to explore humanity. To communicate powerfully: read critically, write passionately and speak purposefully.
Lawrence Clark Powell suggested we should “Write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow” and our passionate English Department at Finham Park believe that students should indeed
be able to discover and engage effectively in the world around them: there is of course no better way to develop and discover than through books!
The department is instrumental in developing feedback strategies and innovative responsive teaching, including stretch and challenge activities in our predominantly mixed ability classes.
Our Key Stage 3 curriculum is designed to broaden students’ diet of literature and engage them with wider world issues. We carefully map skills across our schemes to blend a mixture of reading and writing skills in addition to developing the knowledge rich approach they will need to be successful at GCSE and beyond.
This contains our termly Readathon Challenge as well as digital bookmarks on how to help engage students with their reading and the questions you can ask to help them think more critically.
The department also runs a Creative Writing group, closely working with the Film Group to show that behind any good film is an even better book! They currently meet in M23 every Tuesday from 3-4pm.
We work closely with the library staff, who provide excellent support and resources. We run a guided reading programme in fortnightly reading lessons with Year 7 and Year 8 students in our extensively stocked library, including gold stickered dyslexia friendly books and stretch and challenge texts. Alongside the PLC, the department uses a range of strategies to help support SEND to flourish within the subject.
The department has, and continues, to work closely with Dreadlock Alien to promote both spoken language and literacy beyond the English classrooms as well as putting on a range of theatre trips, recently including A Christmas Carol and Othello.
Our Year 9 curriculum offers a broad and challenging insight into humanity: starting with speeches that sought and brought about change and developing the critical approach to literature texts that will help students to fully engage with whatever they read. In Year 10 and Year 11 students study for English Language and English Literature GCSEs and we offer English Literature and English Language and Literature A Level options.
Department Staff
| Director of English | Mr A Smith (BA) |
| Deputy Subject Leader | Ms E Boyce (BA) |
| KS4 Coordinator | Ms S Beckinsale |
| KS5 Coordinator | Ms T Byrom (MEd) |
| Ms S Raja (MA) | |
| Ms H Cooke (BA) - Assistant Headteacher | |
| Ms E Stan (MA) | |
| Ms A Ford (BA) - Assistant Headteacher | |
| Ms R Hafeji | |
| Ms T Selopal | |
| Ms S Tawfiq | |
| Ms C Reardon (MA) - Deputy SENDCO |