The English department at Burlington House School, Tooting aims to inspire pupils to explore the world, develop their self-awareness, and navigate the twists and turns of modern life by promoting a love of reading and writing. We will do this in the way we:
- Promote a culture of reading and writing by exposing pupils to a diverse range of writers, texts, and genres
- Support all pupils to read and write with confidence and fluency
- Foster in pupils the confidence, desire, and ability to express their views and opinions
- Equip pupils with technical skills and knowledge to express themselves
The strategies we use to teach English are varied, and change to suit the individual needs of our pupils. These may include:
- Deep explorations of language and form
- Group, paired, or shared reading to develop accuracy and fluency
- Shared construction of texts to model writing techniques
- Deconstruction of modelled texts to identify conventions
- Using writing frames to structure responses to topics
- Over learning to ensure thorough knowledge of topics
- Group work or working in teams to encourage lateral thinking
- Using the stimulus for writing to develop creativity
- Incorporation of technology such as ICT, internet or apps
- Use of moving and still images to storyboard ideas for narratives
- Use of voice activated software to support the writing process.
KS3 and KS4
Our Key Stage 3 curriculum aims to be diverse and challenging but also accessible. Pupils will study texts from a range of genres, writers, forms, and cultural contexts. They will use the conventions of these texts in the creation of their own writing.
A typical KS3 curriculum will cover reading and writing in the following content areas:
- Shakespeare
- Poetry
- Novels
- Non-Fiction
- Media
When pupils progress to Key Stage 4, pupils will prepare for GCSE examinations in English Language during Y10 and 11. Some students may progress to undertake work on GCSE English Literature as well.
The English classroom at Burlington House School, Tooting we recognise the importance of promoting pupils to talk. The best way to deepen your understanding of a text or a topic is by expressing your own views, and considering those of others. We encourage students to express themselves confidently and to trust that they have something important to say. In English, there is no one answer.
We encourage flexible thinking and treat English as a subject discipline with skills and concepts that can be taught through studying literature and language, rather than as a bank of knowledge that should be memorised. Assessments are essential to how we monitor students’ understanding of language and literature and track their continued progress.
Almost all courses offered by colleges and sixth forms require an English GCSE as part of their entry requirements. A solid grounding in English will allow our pupils the opportunity to move on from Burlington House School, Tooting with confidence in their skills in reading and writing in a variety of forms.
Parents and carers can help children progress in English by encouraging them to read for pleasure every day and by discussing their reading with them.
