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English Mrs. S. Clare
Mrs. S. Earle All of our students follow a course which is not only innovative and challenging, but fulfils the requirements of both the National Curriculum and the National Literacy Strategy. Our aim is to develop students’ abilities to the highest level and to equip them fully for their future careers. The course followed by all students in years 7 to 9 is one which has been developed by ourselves in order to fulfil our aim. Students across the three year groups look at the craft of writing by analysing the work of great writers both classical and modern. They learn how to develop their own work and how to gain fulfilment and enjoyment as they develop their skills. The Key Stage 3 course is as follows: Year 7: Autobiographical writing, Classical interpretations of school life through the ages, Analysing novels, Media (Newspapers), and Myths. Year 8: Supernatural fiction writing, Writing own novels, Creating a charity campaign, Media (Newspapers), Heroes in fiction (from Medieval works to modern heroes). Year 9: Language analysis, Prose analysis, SAT preparation (Shakespeare and past papers), first GCSE assignment preparation. Our students have an excellent success rate with an average of 94% of students who took the examination gaining a level 5 or better in the SATS test. Throughout the three years all students read a variety of novels to foster good reading habits. The creation of ‘R Zone’ in the LRC was as a result of our focus on reading. A team of students manages a generous Friends of Formby High School donation in the purchase of books for students. This unique project was opened by Sammi Hyppia from Liverpool Football Club. All students are entered for GCSE English and English Literature with outstanding results. At Advanced level we offer an extremely popular combined language and literature course at which students have achieved increasing success. Our students achieve high levels of success in the various competitions they enter, nine of our Key Stage 3 students had sonnets published in an anthology for children, other students have been winners and runners up in various national creative writing competitions. We have worked with outside business partners to give students an opportunity to work with practising newspaper journalists, principally ‘The Manchester Evening News’ who have worked with our gifted and talented students. We have invited writers to share their ideas and expertise with students, and regularly have theatre companies working on texts that are studied at examination level. We also have regular visits to ‘Reduc@ate’ the literacy suite at Liverpool Football Club, one of the few schools outside Liverpool Education Authority allowed to do so. In 2003 we began working with Creative Partnerships, with each student working on developing their writing skills. Each class works with a writer on a genre, ranging from poetry to creating scary films. We have worked on a screenplay project with BAFTA. from which Year 9 created screenplays based on themes from their SAT text ‘Macbeth’. Last year some of our students worked with professional comedians in order to develop both writing and oral skills.
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