In Key Stage 3 students develop a range of reading-and writing based skills through studying novels, poetry, non-fiction and drama. Students learn how to structure an essay in preparation for GCSE and beyond as well as how to enhance their creative writing skills for a variety of purposes.
Year 7:
Year 7 is created around interactive units of work that aim to build students’ skills through speaking and listening, reading and writing. Through the exploration of fertile questions, students are encouraged to use English as a pathway to their understanding of the world around them, while preparing for the new GCSEs at KS4. Over their first academic year at Walthamstow Academy, the students develop their skills of inference, analysis and descriptive writing; skills that enable them to prosper in their further studies. Some of the units they study include: Tom Becker’s Darkside and Victorian Gothic short stories, Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Wily Russell’s Blood Brothers as well as the GCSE Language Paper 1.
Year 8:
Year 8 units of work are built around the genres and themes the students will study for their GCSEs in KS4. In order to ensure all of our students feel challenged at Walthamstow Academy, the Year 8 focus on GCSE texts such as Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, as well as preparing for key KS4 skills through Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Unseen Poetry. Along with these texts, the Year 8 also get taught GCSE Language Paper 1 over the year which enables them to develop their analytical, and descriptive writing skills.
Year 9:
Year 9 is a very significant year for students, as we further enhance the skills they require for success at GCSE. In order to best prepare our students for KS4 success, we have adapted the Schemes of Work around the genres they study at GCSEs. This is why the Year 9 are challenged through Victorian texts, such as Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Grey and Shakespeare’s Othello. Their learning is further developed through Units that focus on Poetry analysis and comparison, while also extending their learning through both GCSE Language Paper 1 and 2. These units of work provide the students with the skillset that will enable them to achieve their potential.
