CURRICULUM
english curriculum
The English curriculum at Shireland Biomedical UTC is designed to inspire a lifelong appreciation of language and literature while equipping all pupils with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to communicate effectively. Through a rich and inclusive programme of study, pupils encounter a diverse range of texts, ideas, and voices that broaden their cultural understanding and strengthen their ability to think critically.
Our curriculum is ambitious, well‑sequenced, and adaptive. It ensures that every learner – including those with SEND and EAL – can access high‑quality English teaching and make strong progress. At Key Stage 3, pupils build secure foundations in reading, writing, and spoken language through thematic learning. At Key Stage 4, they refine and extend these skills through the study of more complex literary and non‑fiction texts, preparing them for GCSE success and life beyond school.
Aims
Our English curriculum aims to ensure that all students:
- Develop a lifelong appreciation of language and literature.
- Read widely and critically, engaging with texts from different cultures, periods, and perspectives.
- Write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences, demonstrating accuracy, creativity, and control.
- Communicate clearly and confidently through discussion, debate, and presentation.
- Build cultural capital through exposure to diverse authors, contexts, and ideas.
- Develop resilience, independence, and the ability to articulate informed viewpoints.
Why study English?
English is central to academic success, personal development, and future employability. Studying English enables students to:
- Understand and interpret the world around them.
- Develop empathy by exploring diverse experiences and perspectives.
- Think critically about language, ideas, and viewpoints.
- Express themselves with clarity, precision, and creativity.
- Build essential literacy skills that support learning across all subjects.
- Prepare for the demands of further education, apprenticeships, and the workplace.
Through literature, pupils encounter powerful stories, characters, and themes that shape their understanding of society. Through language study, they learn how writers influence, persuade, and inform and how they can do the same.
How is the curriculum delivered?
Our curriculum is delivered through consistent, inclusive, and adaptive teaching practices that ensure all pupils make strong progress.
Key Features of Delivery
- Carefully sequenced learning that builds knowledge and skills cumulatively.
- Retrieval practice at the start of every lesson to strengthen long‑term memory.
- Explicit vocabulary instruction to support comprehension and expression.
- Modelling of reading and writing using the I do → We do → You do approach.
- Clear success criteria linked to AQA assessment objectives.
- Formative assessment and responsive feedback to close gaps rapidly.
- Opportunities for independence, extended writing, and structured discussion.
SEND & EAL Provision
- Pre‑teaching of key vocabulary and concepts.
- Visual and linguistic scaffolds (sentence stems, word banks, Frayer models).
- Chunked instructions and opportunities for oral rehearsal.
- Targeted TA support that promotes independence.
- Regular collaboration with SENCO and EAL coordinators.
Curriulum overview - key stage 3
Year 7 – Literacy for Life
Autumn Term
- Citizen Me – Benjamin Zephaniah poetry; speech writing
- Journey to the Centre of the Earth – ‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ by Jules Verne and Percy Jackson
- In Days of Old – Transactional writing focus (newspaper article)
- Fairy Tales – ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare
Spring Term
- Journeys – ‘The Canterbury Tales’ by Geoffrey Chaucer
- i-Robot – Big Write: ‘Is a robot just a robot?’
- Water – ‘Blessing’ by Imitiaz Dharkar
- Growing – ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens
Summer Term
- Silent Movies – Charlie Chaplin’s biography
- Off With Your Head – Queen Elizabeth I’s speech
Year 8
Autumn Term: Coming of Age: Novel Study- Kick
In this unit, students read Kick by Mitch Johnson and explore themes of ambition, inequality, and resilience through the experiences of the main character. They develop their reading skills by considering how the writer presents character, setting, and narrative voice, while also strengthening their written responses by focusing on viewpoint, inference, and the impact of the writer’s choices.
Spring 1 – Nature: Narrative Writing
Students develop creative writing skills by exploring how sensory detail, figurative language, and descriptive techniques bring natural settings to life, strengthening foundations for Language Paper 1 Writing.
Spring 2 – Nature: The Tempest
Students study Shakespeare’s The Tempest, analysing how language, imagery, and Elizabethan beliefs shape themes of nature, power, and control, building early GCSE‑style analytical skills.
Summer 1 – Culture: Non‑Fiction Reading
Students explore non‑fiction texts about cultural identity and diversity, developing key Language Paper 2 skills in comparison, analysis, and evaluating viewpoints across different writers.
Summer 2 – Culture: Poetry
Students analyse poetry from a range of cultures, examining how poets use language, structure, and context to express identity, history, and community, preparing them for GCSE unseen poetry.
Year 9
Autumn Term 1 – Complex Relationships: Gothic Fiction
Students begin the year with the study of 19th‑century Gothic extracts, focusing on how writers create atmosphere, tension, and the supernatural. Development of descriptive writing through figurative language and mood.
Autumn Term 2 – Complex Relationships: Romeo and Juliet
This unit looks at how Shakespeare presents love, conflict, and family pressures, with attention to structure, character dynamics, and key language choices.
Spring Term 1 – Society and Class Hierarchies: Poetry
This unit explores poems that address class, privilege, and social inequality, while developing skills in analysing language, structure, and context in preparation for Literature Paper 2.
Spring Term 2 – Society and Class Hierarchies: Novel Study- The Hate U Give
This unit explores themes of racism, inequality, and social activism, using Language Paper 1 skills to examine narrative voice, symbolism, and the development of key themes.
Summer Term 1 – Media and Technology: Non-Fiction Reading
Students examine how media texts use language, structure, and rhetorical techniques to influence audiences, while developing skills in evaluating viewpoints, identifying bias, and assessing reliability.
Summer Term 2 – Media and Technology: Non-Fiction Writing:
Students create persuasive and analytical non‑fiction writing on media and technology topics, focusing on tone, style, register, and constructing clear, well‑supported arguments.
Key stage 4
year 10 gcse curriculum
Autumn 1 – Macbeth
Students examine Shakespeare’s tragedy in preparation for Literature Paper 1,
with emphasis on character development, thematic ideas, structural choices, and
Jacobean context.
Autumn 2 – A Christmas Carol
Students explore Dickens’ novella, examining Victorian society, morality, and
the importance of social responsibility.
Spring 1 – Language Paper 1: Modern Fiction
By examining contemporary fiction extracts in detail, students consider how
writers shape language and structure and develop more confident evaluative
responses.
Spring 2 – Language Paper 1: Writing
This unit focuses on the development
of narrative and descriptive writing skills for Section B, focusing on crafting
engaging openings, vivid detail, and controlled structure.
Summer 1 – An Inspector Calls
Students explore Priestley’s An Inspector Calls, examining how the play
presents responsibility, class, and social change, and analysing how character,
structure, and dramatic devices shape meaning.
Summer 2 – Language Paper 2: Changing Voices
Non‑fiction
writing this term focuses on expressing clear viewpoints and perspectives.
Pupils also complete their Spoken Language endorsement.
