Our KS4 curriculum

Year 10 – A bridging curriculum

The purpose of study in Year 10 is to connect the curriculum concepts mastered in KS3 to the rigours of studying literature and language at GCSE. The focus here is very much on introducing the literature set texts in a way which is enjoyable and meaningful rather than on detailed analysis. Similarly, the study of language is intended to build knowledge of core concepts and to provide practice of the key areas of skill. As such, there is no explicit test preparation and students are not studying the composition of exam papers. All of this is to make the final year of study as purposeful as possible.

Year 11 – focussed cycles

Students focus with increasing precision on the detail of their set texts and on the types of writing they will need to produce to be successful at GCSE. The year is composed of interleaved cycles where students study an aspect of the course. For instance, if the week in question is a Macbeth week, students will spend a series of lessons examining three different facets of the play and plan written responses for each. Then, in the next lesson they choose one of these planned responses to write in full. Responses are then read by the teacher who prepares a whole class feedback lesson to complete each cycle. As the exams loom ever closer, students should become increasingly familiar with each component on which they will be tested and on how to complete successful responses.