We sequence our knowledge-rich KS3 curriculum by exploring our six key concepts (Characterisation, Imagery, Rhetoric, Grammar, Structure & Genre and Context & Perspectives), developing schemas of knowledge and engaging with a range of high-quality stimuli to cultivate the four areas of knowledge and skill (reading, writing, oracy & literacy) in order to access the KS4 curriculum. The KS3 curriculum is sequenced to build this knowledge and the key skills from KS2, advancing in challenge, depth and variety each year, underpinned by a range of British and multicultural genres and forms. Students will have explored and be confident in responding to, and producing their own, Prose, Poetry, Non-Fiction, Short Stories, Plays and Media Texts. Additionally, they will have the ability to articulate ideas, viewpoints and experiences verbally to a range of audiences and for different purposes, to prepare them for life after The Dean Academy.

In Year 7, we are developing students’ awareness of different cultures, the art of persuasion, Elizabethan England & media; in Year 8 we focus on empathy through the exploration of Perspectives, Coming of Age, Gothic, Bias, and EDI and in Year 9, the emphasis is on seminal world literature, Dystopia, Britain and how literature has been influenced by our roots, from patriarchy and the role of women in Elizabethan England, the psychological impacts of war, as well as how Britain has evolved since the 19th century.

We must aim to enthuse our students within English, so students become critical thinkers, read for pleasure and take risks. Ideally, we want our students to leave our classrooms discussing, reciting and reflecting on what they have explored or taken part in. Our Key Stage 3 curriculum exposes students to different viewpoints, perspectives, voices and experiences through the study of increasingly challenging and engaging texts. Furthermore, students should be confident, fluent and technically accurate writers and use what they have read or experienced to develop these skills. Oracy opportunities must be embedded throughout the curriculum to develop articulate and expressive speakers, but also to help formulate ideas and views.

We sequence our KS4 curriculum through the concurrent study of GCSE Literature and Language to increase engagement and depth of study of our set texts, as well as teaching the key language analysis and writing skills through these texts.

The GCSE course is demanding, and we want our students to achieve as highly as possible in their Year 11 examinations, but this is not the sole purpose of our curriculum. In addition, it is designed to inspire, enthuse and challenge students into thinking about their lives and the world around them now and in the past. Students will be able to develop their skill and confidence in communicating ideas in a range of forms both verbally and in writing, as well as explore how writers convey their intentions and bring their own worlds to life. Finally, we want as many students as possible to go on to study Language and/or Literature at KS5 and promote this where we can.