English Department  - Secondary

Head of Department:  Ms. Debbie Miranda
Email ID: debbiejo.m_win@gemsedu.com

Department Philosophy:

At the Winchester School, the study of English develops children’s abilities to listen, speak, read and write for a wide range of purposes, so using language to learn and communicate ideas, views and feelings. It enables children to express themselves creatively and imaginatively, as they become enthusiastic and critical readers of stories, poetry and drama, as well as non-fiction and media texts. Children gain an understanding of how language works by looking at its patterns, structures and origins. Children use their knowledge, skills and understanding in speaking and writing across a range of different situations. The goals of the English department are:

• To foster a love for the language and promote a broader understanding of the subject.
• To make English fun and exciting.
• To ensure teaching and learning of a high standard is taking place in every lesson.
• To ensure every student makes continuous progress through target-setting and diagnostic feedback.

Department Facilities / Resources:

• The secondary school library has an extensive collection of fiction, non-fiction, magazines and reference books.
• All English classrooms have a digital projector and screen. Several English rooms have a Promethean interactive whiteboard.
• Teachers have access to CD players, tape recorders, voice recording apparatus, laptops, and interactive whiteboards.
• Students have access to the Internet through their classroom computer. Access to the Internet is also available in the library area.
• Audio-visual aids are also available from the central storage area.
• Parental engagement website: https://sites.google.com/site/mrrobertsenglish/
• English blog: http://winchesterenglish.blogspot.com/
• English department e-magazine: http://www.phoebusonline.com/
• IGCSE revision: https://sites.google.com/site/winchesterigcseenglish/

Key Points from Department Policy:

• At The Winchester School we use a variety of teaching and learning styles in English lessons, as recommended by the National Literacy Strategy and the National Curriculum Programme of Study.
• Our principle aim is to develop children’s knowledge, skills, and understanding in English. We do this through daily lessons that have a balance of whole-class and group teaching.
• Children have the opportunity to experience a wide range of texts and use a range of resources such as dictionaries, thesauruses and online resources to support their work.
• Children use ICT in English lessons where it enhances their learning, as in drafting their work and using multimedia for presentations. Wherever possible we encourage children to use and apply their learning in other areas of the curriculum.
• Feedback sheets identifying areas to improve and suggestions on how to improve are kept in student’s files.
• Term-wise targets are set for individual pupils with feedback at the end of the time period.
• Staff are also encouraged to undertake lesson observations of English teaching across the school.
• Regular lesson observation cycles are held by the head of English and the head of Teaching and Learning.
• Differentiation and catering to multiple intelligences in the classroom is a priority in the English department.

Assessment Procedure:

• Continuous formative assessment in class through discussions, presentations, quizzes, observation and participation in group / pair work
• Summative assessments are held at the end of each term. Teachers make long-term assessments towards the end of the school year, and these are used to assess progress against school and national targets. With the help of these long-term assessments, teachers are able to set targets for the next school year and summarize the progress of each child before discussing it with the child’s parents.
• At the end of year 9 students sit for the Cambridge Checkpoint Exam. At the end of year 11, students sit for the IGCSE exams; and in years 12 and 13 students sit for the AS and A2 Literature exams. Marking for all these exams are done in accordance with the grade descriptors prescribed by CIE (Cambridge International Examinations).

Extra-curricular Activities:

• Key Stage 4 Debate
• Elocution competition
• Sixth Form Literature Quiz
• Key Stage 3 Spelling Bee
• Book clubs for Key Stages 3 and 4
• Film club for key stage 3
• Shakespeare Fest - Key Stage 3

Useful Subject-specific websites:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/

Excellent site for speakers of English as a second language

http://nonstopenglish.com

Useful printable online grammar exercises

http://www.englishclub.com/

A site to help students learn English. Includes everything from lessons for students, interactive pages like forums, games, quizzes, chat, help, and friends.

http://www.englishclub.com/reading/index.htm

Useful reading comprehension exercises and tasks to improve reading skills in English.

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

Site with a list and explanation of common errors in English

http://esl.about.com/library/printable/blquiz_print.htm

English as a second language quizzes

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

Excellent exercises based on newspaper articles and reports

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/uptodate/index.shtml

BBC audio files and worksheets to practice listening and grammar skills

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english/

Mainly concerned with revision for GCSE English, there are useful exercises for IGCSE ESL – e.g. reading non-fiction/information texts, writing in different styles, exam tips. There’s a link to the ‘SOS Teacher English’ site, which has more practice in these areas.

http://www.how-to-study.com

This website contains lots of useful study tips which are suitable for all ages.