Bellemoor School | Southampton

English as a school subject has two facets.  It is central to effective communication and it assists all learning - including learning about ourselves and the world around us.  As we grow our competence in Language grows with us.  English is part of our growing - but it also assists that maturing process.

Aims

We aim to develop the students' ability to communicate accurately and appropriately in speech and writing and to understand and respond to what is heard, read, seen and experienced.  We try to stimulate real enjoyment of reading and of language in their own right and as part of an increasingly critical appreciation of self and others.

We also aim to offer something of our work to the rest of the school as part of the special nature of English.

Therefore, our aims are:

• To provide an integrated programme of English involving reading, writing, talking and listening.
• To develop pupils ability to read, enjoy and respond to Literature in a wide variety of ways, and to be discriminating in their choice of texts.
• To enable pupils to speak and write effectively and accurately.
• To develop, through Literature, pupils imagination, creativity and ability to understand others.
• To encourage co-operation and a willingness to work with others; to value themselves and others.
• To develop good habits of study, self-motivation and organisation, including the redrafting of work, and the importance of thorough preparation and research.
• To develop critical skills of analysis and evaluation, an awareness of the effects achieved by writers and how these are brought about.
• To prepare pupils for adult life and to be aware of appropriate register, the value of standard English and the value of dialects.

Homework

Homework will be set twice a week and homework tasks will vary widely.  They may include:

• Writing a short story or poem
• Carrying out an interview
• Watching a television programme and writing a review of it
• Researching a newspaper article for class discussion
• A specific reading assignment
• Criticism or discussion of pieces of work of various kinds
• Collecting materials for classwork, oral or written work
• Preparation for a lesson by means of thought or research about a topic to be covered Reading

Ways in which parents can help

Your son relies on your interest and encouragement.  You can help by making sure that he reads as much and as widely as possible at home, and that the school and local library are used.  We provide a Reading Log and encourage pupils to read and make entries in their Logs on a regular basis.

The library carries a wide selection of interesting novels and other books and magazines, which can be borrowed.

You can improve your son's written work by discussing ideas with him, and by going over his spelling and punctuation, after he has checked through the work himself.

Visits to the Cinema or live performances of plays, poetry reading, and so on, of good literary standard, are of great value as background knowledge.  Feel free to write your own comments and notes to the teacher in your son's book or folder.  The course involves regular self-assessment by the pupils (recorded in their books or folders) and this will provide you with a good opportunity to discuss your son's overall progress with him and to make your own comments on the assessment form.  We have regular Parents' Evenings and parents should use the opportunity to discuss their son's progress with the teacher.

Visits 

The English Department arranges regular outings to places of interest, such as Stratford-on-Avon.  There are also visits to cinematic or live performances of plays poetry and novels.  Your son should be encouraged to attend.

The Course:

Reading

Each pupil is expected to write reviews of between five and ten books per year in the Reading Log Book.  This is an essential part of the National Curriculum.  In addition, other books will be read during the year as a whole class activity: these are used as the basis for comprehension, analysis and discussion activities, for language work, and for critical analysis and personal response.  These will include novels, plays, poetry, short stories, newspapers and magazine articles, and a range of non-literary texts.

The Librarian provides a course during the first term to introduce the library and basic study and reference skills.  The English teacher uses the library frequently, introducing and reading 'taster' passages from books to the whole class.

Critical appreciation and analysis of a wide and exciting range of good literature form a fundamental part of the English curriculum.  Boys will be expected to read widely and to provide thoughtful, but personal, responses.

Writing

The GCSE course in English is a combination of examination and coursework.  With this in mind, junior boys are encouraged to work in the same way as those senior boys who are preparing for the GCSE.  Thus, juniors are encouraged to draft work first, then to subject their drafts to constructive criticism, by themselves and by other boys, and finally to write their work out neatly.  The teacher may give the finalised work a mark and write helpful comments, but not before working through the completed pieces with the boy, on a one-to-one basis, as often as possible.

Talking and Listening

Many English tasks involve discussion and/or role-play and the list of activities is wide and varied.  Pupils are introduced to the formal conventions of debate and expected to act as reporters in-group work. 

This is encouraged to promote the important skill of listening and establishing respect for what others have to say.  Pupils will also be asked to give short talks on subjects of their own choice, and answer questions from members of the class.  There is also renewed interest in the role of listening skills in Education; the English Department recognises this and the inculcation of good listening skills and habits is emphasised.  All this prepares boys for their eventual entry into GCSE coursework in Year 10, where an oral component is required.