English

Staff

Ms Howells - Head of Department 
Mr Hussein - Assistant Headteacher
Ms Watkins - Assistant Headteacher
Mr Black - KS4 Progress and Achievement   
Ms Khan - KS5 Progress and Achievement 
Ms Letang - KS3 SEN
Mr Wood - KS3 Progress and Achievement
Ms Pathak 
Ms Tahir 
Mr Burgon
Mr Holmes 
Miss Rahman 
Mr Raphael 
Mr Middleton 

If you wish to contact us, then please use the email addresses below: 

howellst@barkingabbeyschool.co.uk  
blackr@barkingabbeyschool.co.uk
khanl@barkingabbeyschool.co.uk 


Department Overview

At Barking Abbey we aim to prepare students for GCSE whilst fostering a love of reading from the moment they arrive in Year 7. We have developed a new curriculum which ties in very closely with governmental changes whilst addressing the needs and interests of our intake. We have devised schemes of work across the year groups which challenge all learners and gives them opportunities to consider the world from a spiritual, cultural and moral perspective. Barking Abbey students are treated to a range of genres and writers, both fiction and non- fiction, to improve their own reading skills and help to develop their writing. We believe our curriculum encourages the students to want to read independently outside of the classroom as this is a key to knowledge and success in our subject.

 

Curriculum Content
Key Stage 3


Year 7  

The following main units are taught 3x a week per half term alongside writing skills lessons 1x per week: 

  • ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare 
  • London – selection of poetry 
  • ‘Beowulf’ and Chaucer 
  • Diverse Shorts unit
  • Exam preparation for Language exams  
  • ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell 

Year 8 

The following main units are taught 3x a week per half term alongside writing skills lessons 1x per week: 

  • ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare 
  • World War One poetry 
  • Gothic/ Edgar Allan Poe author study 
  • ‘Face’ by Benjamin Zephaniah  
  • Exam preparation for Language exams 
  • The Woman in Black’ by Susan Hill 
Key Stage 4 


GCSE  

Year 9 

The following main units are taught 3x a week per half term alongside GCSE writing skills lessons 1x per week: 

  • ‘The Merchant of Venice’ by William Shakespeare 
  • ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens 
  • Character and Voice Poetry-Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage 
  • ‘A View from the Bridge’ by Arthur Miller 
  • Exam preparation for Language exams 
  • Diverse short stories

 

Year 10 & 11 English Language and Literature 

Both are linear courses and 100% exam. 

English Language 

Paper 1 - Explorations in creative reading and writing 

Paper 2 - Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives 

English Literature 

Paper 1 - Shakespeare and the nineteenth century novel (‘Macbeth’ and ‘The Sign of the Four’) 

Paper 2 - Modern Texts and Poetry (‘An Inspector Calls,’ Power and Conflict Poetry and Unseen Poetry 

 

Key Stage 5 


‘A’ level English students study the following texts: 

  • ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F Scott Fitzgerald 

  • ‘Othello’ by William Shakespeare 

  • ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ by Tennessee Williams 

  • ‘Feminine Gospels’ by Carol Ann Duffy 

  • ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood 

  • Anthology of love poetry 

  • Unseen poetry and prose 

They also produce one piece of coursework over the two year course.  

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“If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book.”

J.K. Rowling