I wish you a hopeful Christmas,
I wish you a brave new year,
All anguish, pain and sadness, Leave your heart and let your road be clear.
Greg Lake
Knowledge
The first pillar of our curriculum is knowledge. To master English you need to know the texts, the terminology, the rules and the words of English.
Oracy
The third pillar is oracy. We spend far more time speaking English than we do reading or writing it, and with people turning increasingly to AI to write things for them, being able to speak well may turn out to be the thing that sets you apart from the rest in the years to come.
Enrichment: go beyond the curriculum
To become an outstanding student of English, not to mention a more informed and enlightened human being, you need to go beyond the curriculum. You need to enrich your knowledge, skills and oracy with cultural capital. You need to know how different texts and ideas fit into the wider intellectual landscape; you need to know the movements and texts that made a difference to the world; and you need to know why any of it matters. The enrichment tasks on the website (and in your Enrichment Books) are designed to help you to do this.
Assessment and support
The assessment and support area on the website has lots of information about what assessments are coming up this year and how you can practise or get other support. You can go straight to this part of the site at any time using the new Assessment and support section in the navigation bar at the top of every page.
Assessments coming up
Have you ever wished you had a bit more warning about what assessments were coming up in English so you could be better prepared? Well, wish no more. You can now see what assessments are coming up in the current assessment window. You can also click the link at the top of the homepage that says which window we’re currently in.
Skill Check assessment criteria
Have you ever wished you knew exactly what determined your mark in your Skill Checks? Well, wish no more. You can find the assessment criteria for all the key skills here.
Lunchtime support and extension sessions
We will be running several different lunchtime sessions for knowledge, skills and enrichment this year. Get involved to make faster progress in English — and earn more rewards! You can find all the details here, and you can speak to your English teacher if you’ve got any further questions.
Full assessment schedules
Find details of what assessments you’ll be doing in each 3-week assessment window for the whole year using our full assessment schedules.