English

 

 

Year 7 Young Writers

 

Year 7

Young Writers

 

Do you enjoy writing?

Would you like a quiet space and likeminded people to develop and share your talent?

Would you like to see your writing in print?

 

Then come along to the Young writers club on a Wednesday lunchtime in E4.

All you need is a pen and your imagination!

 

 

The English Department at Parkwood Academy is dedicated to challenging and supporting all of our students to develop their literacy skills, irrespective of their starting points.

 

We deliver the National Curriculum for English, focused on the three main areas of Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening. Students develop knowledge and skills from interacting with a wide range of fiction and non-fiction texts, take part in debates, drama based activities, analyzing and creating their own texts.

 

We believe that the knowledge and understanding children develop in English during their time here will equip them with the skills to engage with the next stage of their lives, be this in a professional, educational or personal context.

 

The English Department currently consists of 7 enthusiastic and experienced members of staff. We work closely together to share our experiences of different areas of the curriculum to offer a varied experience of English to our students. We utilize a range of approaches to learning, allowing all students to engage with this core subject, from the more traditional areas of study, such as Shakespeare and poetry, to new and exciting developments, such as creating media texts using up to date technology and even studying the spoken language of Reality TV judges! Where else would Shakespeare and Simon Cowell share a room?

 

We aim to offer students experience of English outside the normal classroom environment through a range of extra curricular activities, such as Theatre trips and visits from published authors and poets. We also celebrate national events that are relevant, such as World Book Day, National Poetry Day and our Year 9 students have taken a regular part in World News Day in conjunction with the BBC.

 

A real benefit of English is the opportunity the subject offers to develop core skills whilst learning about important historical and contemporary events, both international and more local. For example, we take pride in delivering a unit to Year 9 students on Poetry from Other Cultures, which uses poetry based on the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, Apartheid and Slavery. Throughout their time at the Academy, students also read a range of novels, poetry and plays, focused around issues such as World War One, the American Depression, gang related violence, love, relationships … the list is almost endless. We are constantly seeking to improve and develop the units and topics we study to ensure they are relevant, engaging and interesting to our young people.

 

We believe strongly that Reading for pleasure is one of the most vital skills to ensure students achieve their potential in English, so we work closely with the Learning Centre to ensure students have regular access to modern, interesting texts. We ask that all of our students read on a regular basis (at least once a week for half an hour – more if possible) and that parents support their children with this by modeling reading for pleasure and taking an active interest in the book their child is currently reading.

 

We constantly strive to build upon our successes and aspire to helping our students attain the best English results year on year.