The English Department at St. Brigid’s offers pupils a varied and challenging experience, which is designed to enrich them as individuals and as contributors to society.
Their communication skills and the opportunity to be creative, is fostered through their study of a variety of literary and media texts, which enables them to become more critical and independent in their thinking and learning.
As preparation for life beyond St. Brigid’s and with the help of ourselves, we want our pupils to raise their expectations of themselves and so achieve their full potential.
Key Stage 3
In Years 8, 9 and 10 students have four periods of English per week. They follow a course which approximately every six weeks, assesses their skills in Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing. They study a variety of prose, drama, poetry and media texts on which to base their assignments and can produce these by incorporating their ICT skills, or by using digital audio-visual equipment available within the department, to enhance the presentation.
A Private Reading scheme promotes and encourages reading and in addition, there are opportunities to enter competitions and engage in live question and answer web casts with published well known writers.
Key Stage 4
At GCSE all pupils study the compulsory English Language exam, which is a two year modular course. The course allows pupils to study Spoken Language, Literary criticism and the art of Creative writing. This contributes towards 40% of their overall mark. Another 20% is based on their Speaking and Listening skills which are finalised in Yr. 12. The external written exam is worth the final 40%.
The skills in communication gained during this key stage mean that our pupils should understand the many conventions of written and spoken English and so apply these effectively in their everyday lives.
We aim to teach them how to read critically and express themselves confidently while understanding the diverse cultural identities and traditions they will experience.
