The Crypt School English Department

The Crypt School English Department is an academically exciting place to work, offering A levels in English Language, English Literature and Media Studies.  Our GCSE classes are in six sets from a four form intake, so average class size is 20 students.  All students take both AQA (A) GCSEs and the top set take AS English Literature a year early.  The Key Stage 3 classes are in tutor groups in Year 7 and in two ability bands in Y8 and Y9.  The students follow a spiral curriculum that introduces GCSE and A level skills from the outset of Y7 and progressively revisits them.  Throughout KS3 we have a policy of reading at the start of each lesson to guarantee that time is set aside for this vital life skill.  We have been an APP network school, focusing carefully on the individual skills of English, and this thinking continues to underpin KS3 and to inform our support strategies at KS4 and KS5.  KS3 is supported by one-to-one intervention.

Creativity and risk taking are encouraged and we like to show students that we can do as well as teach, to provide models for a critically and creatively engaged life beyond school.  As a team, we enjoy robust discussion about our teaching strategies, as well as about texts and interpretations.  We thrive on real teaching and we get plenty of it!

Resources:

The Department's teaching is based in neighbouring rooms on the first floor and close to the Library, the English stockroom and Departmental Office. Our KS3 schemes of work are fully shared and resourced, which team members keep on their laptops; these are also available via the school intranet for students who miss lessons.  Most students in KS3 have their own laptops via the school’s e-learning programme and much assessment and sharing of resources with students takes place via email. All of the classrooms have their own digital projector, interactive whiteboard, amplifier and speakers.

The new Library has around 16,000 items on its shelves on the network, including books, DVDs, CDs and e-books.  There are 22 computer workstations for students and many charging points for laptop users.  The new building won a design award and the environment is fresh and exciting to work in.

Academic Standards:

The academic standards of the Department reflect closely the care, sensitivity and meticulous planning which have been the hallmarks of English teaching in the school. 90% of students join the school with level 5 in their KS2 SATs.  In 2009 100% completed their GCSE with a grade C or higher.  At KS5 we offer English Language, English Literature and Media Studies. On average, every student in the 6th form takes an English subject (some take none, some take two or three).

The Staff:

Mark Bennett (Head of English)

James Bridges

Matt Brough (Assistant Head 14-19)

Chris Cobb

Dionne Meade – p/t

Eleanor Miles (Assistant Head of English, AQA Baccalaureate Co-ordinator)

Jane Yiend (AQA Baccalaureate Mentor)

Our results show that we make outstanding provision for Gifted and Talented students.  The English team are gifted and talented in their own right and have expertise and enthusiasm for stretching and challenging, both by training and by inclination.

We spend around 20 hours per week outside of school marking students’ work and we believe in the value of this.  We think that the personalised guidance that students receive in class, through marking and through extra-curricular mentoring is one of the main reasons for the happiness of the students within the department, as well as for their academic success.

Extra-curricular activities:

Our students give their time to widen their experience of English by:

Taking part in the World Book Day challenge;

Acting as mentors for younger G+T students;

Taking part in or running the Y7 G+T book club;

Writing, rehearsing and performing school pantomimes with the Drama Department;

Taking part in the local and regional heats of the Times Spelling Bee;

Having their poems published in Talkin’ about My Generation;

Entering the Minisagas short story competition;

Writing and publishing poetry within the school community via Poem of the Month;

Representing themselves and the department to parents by reading their work at the Words and Music evenings with the Music Department;

Visiting Woodchester Mansion during Arts Week and writing creative responses;

Taking part in our internal Public Speaking Honour competition, modelling skills to the Y9 audience;

Representing themselves and the school in the Three Counties Debating competition.

English KS3

My target in Speaking and Listening is:

• Speak so that all listeners can hear clearly. (into 4c)

• Volunteer short ideas as well as responding to questions. (4c to 4b)

• Narrate an idea in order of time from start to end. (4c to 4b)

• Use Standard English, avoiding slang. (4b to 4a)

• Extend an idea with a connective (because/so/therefore). (4b to 4a)

• Explain a series of ideas by discussing what causes what effect. (4a to 5c)

• Build on a point made by another speaker (I agree and…). (5c to 5b)

• Challenge a point made by another speaker (I disagree, because). (5c to 5b)

• Engage the listener by using frequent eye-contact. (5b to 5a)

• Engage the listener by using a slightly higher pitch at the start of each new idea. (5b to 5a)

• Signal what you are about to talk about (“firstly” or “my main reason is” or “to conclude”) (5a to 6c)

• Plan for and use a polysyllabic word in place of a more simple word. (5a to 6c)

• Invite other speakers to contribute (“This could mean… What do you think?”). (6c to 6b)

• Plan for and use a sound pattern in persuasive speaking (alliteration, assonance, rhyme, onomatopoeia). (6b to 6a)

• Use powerful imagery in descriptive speaking (6a to 7c)

• Use technical terminology in analytical speaking (6a to 7c)

• Invite other speakers’ contributions and interrupt or redirect speaking to ensure that all speakers contribute evenly. (7c to 7b)

• Use the accent, pitch and pace of another character convincingly when speaking in a drama focused activity (7c to 7b)

• Argue an alternative point of view powerfully, using rhetorical devices (repetition, sound patterns, personal engagement) and careful, logical structuring. (7b to 7a)

My target in Reading is:

• Explain clearly what a text means. (into 4c)

• Explain clearly what a text means and quote a sentence to prove it. (4c to 4b)

• Use a PEE paragraph in the next essay. (4b to 4a)

• Use quotation marks for every quotation. (4b to 4a)

• Use PEE paragraphs for every point that is made. (4a to 5c)

• Explain in detail what a quotation means. (5c to 5b)

• Choose one word in a quotation and explore all of the things it makes me think of. (5b to 5a)

• Explore the effect of a word, punctuation mark or point of grammar in every quotation. (5a to 6c)

• Discuss the possible effects the writer is trying to create in every quotation, referring to choice of words, punctuation and grammar. (6c to 6b)

• Discuss the possible effects the writer is trying to create in every quotation, referring to techniques like metaphor, irony or alliteration for at least one quotation. (6b to 6a)

• Discuss the possible effects the writer is trying to create, referring to techniques like metaphor, irony or alliteration wherever they occur. (6a to 7c)

• Discuss the possible effects the writer is trying to create, weighing up which is the most sensible reading and using the correct terminology to analyse examples. (7c to 7b)

• Discuss the possible effects the writer is trying to create, weighing up which is the most sensible reading, using the correct terminology to analyse examples and evaluating the strength of the effect on the reader. (7b to 7a)

• Show an understanding of how the writer’s life and world influenced the writing.  Compare to other works the writer has written or works by other writers in the same style. (7a to GCSE grade B/A/A*)

My target in Writing is:

• Write out the correct spellings of misspelt words three times. (any level)

• Use describing words (adjectives and adverbs) to help the reader imagine in detail. (into 4c)

• Start every sentence with a capital letter – sentences often start with: He / She / It / The / I / They. (into 4c)

• Finish every sentence with a full stop.  A simple sentence has finished when all the words about one action have been written. (4c to 4b)

• Keep the same tense all the way through a piece of writing.  If it starts “he went” then it should always be “he went” and never “he goes”. (4c to 4b)

• Keep the same narrator all the way through a piece of writing.  If it starts “I went” then that character should always be “I” and never “he”. (4c to 4b)

• When writing dialogue, start a new line for every new speaker. (4b to 4a)

• When writing dialogue, use quotation marks. (4b to 4a)

• When writing dialogue, use a finishing mark (.!?) before the final quotation mark or a comma (,) or an ellipsis (…) if the speaker does not finish what they are saying.  (4a to 5c)

• Ask for a copy of commonly misspelt words (or open from Intranet/ Departments/ English/ Commonly Misspelt Words) and learn them. (4a to 5c)

• At the end of every clause (all the words about one action) always either finish with a finishing mark (.!?) or connect with a connective (and/or/but). (4a to 5c)

• Start some sentences with an adverb ( -ly) that describes how or when an action happened. (5c to 5b)

• Connect some clauses (all the words about one action) with a comma (,) and a subordinating connective (although/so/when).  Commas don’t connect on their own. (5c to 5b)

• Start a new paragraph for every new time, place or character that you introduce. (5c to 5b)

• Connect some clauses (all the words about one action) with a comma (,) and a verb starting in “to ____” or ending in “-ing” or “-ed”.  Commas don’t connect on their own. (5b to 5a)

• Use a simile (like / as) or a metaphor to compare to something that will help your reader imagine vividly. (5b to 5a)

• Connect some clauses (all the words about one action) with a colon (:) to continue or extend an idea.  Colons continue. (5a to 6c)

• Connect some clauses (all the words about one action) with a semicolon (;) to add a balancing or contrasting idea.  Semicolons often show sudden changes. (5a to 6c)

• Start some sentences with subordinate clauses (starting with “although/so/when”) for variety. (5a to 6c)

• Use long, complex sentences for slow-paced description.  Use short simple sentences for fast-paced action. (5a to 6c)

• Choose words that have the right level of intensity, like “large” for simple mood or “towering” for a threatening mood. (5a to 6c)

• Use a range of imagery, including personification (where a lifeless object is described as doing something that makes it seem alive) to help the reader imagine vividly (6c to 6b)

• Use a full range of sentence structures: start with adverbs (-ly) or adverbial phrases that describe how or when an action was done; start with a subordinate clause (starting with “although/so/when”); use long or short sentences for pace. (6c to 6b)

• Use a full range of connecting strategies: co-ordination (and/or/but), subordination (although/so/when); colons to continue; semicolons for a sudden change; non-finite verbs (“, to ____” or “, -ing” or “, -ed”). (6c to 6b)

• Choose words throughout a paragraph for their connotations (associations) as well as their main meaning to maintain a consistent mood. (6b to 6a)

• Use time in a complex way, using a flashback or a prologue. (6a to 7c)

• Use parentheses (brackets, dashes or commas) to give “asides” from the narrator and show the narrator’s opinion on an idea. (7c to 7b)

• Try narrating with a dialect, showing the regional origin or educational background of the narrator. (7c to 7b)

• Try narrating in 2nd person, putting the reader in the role of protagonist. (7b to 7a)

• Use a narrator who is not honest with the reader or who does not know some facts that are crucial to the narrative. (7b to 7a)

• Use narrators that are unexpected for the reader – tell the story from the perspective of an object or a place. (7b to 7a)