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SUBJECTS IN KEY STAGES 3 AND 4
ENGLISH AND MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES
English
Provision in English is very good.
Main strengths and weaknesses
- Pupils make very good progress to reach well above average
standards.
- Progress is very carefully monitored so that teaching can
be adapted to make sure pupils achieve their full potential.
- Consistently high quality teaching inspires confidence and
eagerness to learn.
- Mutual respect in relationships encourages pupils to participate
and to be open about what they do not understand.
- Very good leadership and very good management support a strong
team.
Commentary
46. Standards are well above average. Results in
2003 national tests at the end of Year 9 were well above average
compared to national results, but below similar schools’ results.
Thorough and effective action has been taken to improve the identified
weakness in non-fiction writing, and results have risen in 2004.
There is no indication of under-achievement in the 2003 cohort
who are now in Year 11. Standards were well above average
in the 2004 GCSE examinations. Standards in work seen are above
average in Years 7 and 8, and well above average in Year 9. This
is then maintained through Years 10 and 11. Pupils enter the school
with mainly average skills in English and literacy at the start
of Year 7 and they develop a mutual commitment with their teachers
to improve in the subject, so that in Year 9 well above average
standards are obtained. The progress they make represents very
good achievement by the end of Year 9 and Year 11, Boys’ and
girls’ achievement
is different. Girls achieve better, but both are above their gender
average nationally and boys narrow the gap by Year 11. Pupils with
special educational needs achieve very well because teachers spot
opportunities for them to succeed, which boosts their confidence
to make further effort. The achievement of able and gifted pupils
is high. On the whole pupils achieve very well because they rapidly
and continuously improve. By Year 9 many can write essays that
achieve a standard equivalent to a GCSE pass at grade C or above.
Year 11 pupils can express how the structure of a poem contributes
to its meaning and understand deeply the symbolism of “Lord
of the Flies”. They also have good command of the terms
of literary criticism and the effective use of quotation, as seen,
for example, in an excellent essay on “Wuthering Heights”. Spelling
and punctuation and correct usage are sometimes weak in Years 7 and
8, though work is almost always presented well, including writing by
lower ability pupils. Nonfiction writing, which had been identified
as a weakness in Years 7 to 9, is now a strength.
47. Learning is very good overall. The cumulative impact of very
good teaching raises pupils’ expectations of what they can
do and excites and interests them. Year 11 pupils stated that
English is a subject that constantly challenges you to think about
new ideas. In a Year 11 lesson on the poetry of Gillian Clarke,
the pupils and the teacher became so absorbed that the time flew
by. All classes are of mixed ability, but the teachers do not
avoid dealing with challenging texts and skillfully make them
accessible. The common practice of mixing genders in group work
helps pupils to stay on task. When pupils in the mixed ability
classes work in small groups, all benefit from the blend of ability.
More able pupils develop high skills by leading group activities,
whilst others gain a real advantage from the support that provides.
The variety of different media and genres used in lessons maintains
interest, even for those boys whose attention span can be short.
It is useful that teachers hear pupils read aloud to check understanding
and progress. This is one demonstration of the trust that exists
in
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