In English we aim to provide all our students with a diverse and intellectually challenging curriculum that reflects upon both local and global communities. We encourage our students to be pro-active learners, nurturing their confidence so that they are willing to challenge themselves, working both independently and collaboratively, to realise their potential.

In engaging our students with experiences beyond their own, as well as experiences that may resonate with them, we aim to develop their skills as effective communicators, critical readers, analytical thinkers and original, creative writers. It is a curriculum with strong cross-curricular and extra-curricular links which equips them well for their next steps, either in higher education or future employment.

At Key Stage 3, our students follow the National Curriculum. We aim to instil a love of reading through the Accelerated Reading programme, developing vocabularies and skills through explicit teaching. We encourage our students to find their own voice in writing while enjoying literature from our literary heritage as well as from other cultures and traditions. They have the opportunity to participate in a diverse range of activities, from a choral reading of a ballad or dub poetry; performing the 32-second Macbeth; shadowing the Kate Greenaway and Carnegie Award; to writing their own dystopia, documentary or podcast. Our students learn to talk, to read and write as experts, to develop informed opinions, reasonable argument and critical analyses as well as writing imaginatively, and remembering the emphasis we can create through the dash – or a rat lurking in separate!

We expect the very best from all our students, building on the skills taught from Key Stage 3 through to GCSE, where they follow the Edexcel programmes of study in both English Language and English Literature. Their learning is underpinned by reading between the lines and interpreting texts, writing with increasing clarity, coherence and cohesion, and speaking with increasing fluency and flair. We are very proud of our students’ achievements at GCSE where they make “strong progress” (Ofsted, 2017), and we are a very popular choice at A Level where our students can study either English Literature or the combined course of English Language and Literature. At A Level, our students enjoy continued success, usually ranking in the top 25%.

Our team of English specialists are committed to providing the best quality teaching and learning of our students. We work collaboratively, drawing on a range of expertise, skills and knowledge to develop excellent resources to engage and enthuse our students. Throughout the year, students are invited to extra-curricular activities, such as theatre trips, author visits and writers’ workshops, to complement and enrich their learning. We have our own suite of rooms in the E block which is colourfully decorated with student work and the records of their successes in school and in local and national competitions.

KS3 Banding Criteria

If you child is in years 7-9, their report will be graded in bands. To understand the criteria behind these bands, please see the assessment document below:

English-KS3-Assessment-Criteria.pdf

Teaching Team

Miss N. Webb, Head of English/ ITT Mentor:
nwebb@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Mrs A. E. Dench, Teacher of English:
adench@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Ms S. Pereira, Teacher of English & Lead Practitioner:
spereira@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Ms K. Elizabeth, Teacher of English & Lead Practitioner:
kray@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Miss J. Chowdhury, KS4 Coordinator, Teacher of English:
jchowdhury@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Mrs M. Wray, KS3 Coordinator, Teacher of English and Drama:
mwray@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Mrs T. Edwards, Head of Year 9/Teacher of English & Religious Studies: tedwards@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Mrs S. Khanna, Head of EAL/ Teacher of English:
skhanna@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Mrs E. Kotseroni, Teacher of English:
ekotseroni@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Mr C. Mooney, Assistant Head of Faculty of Performing & Community Arts/ English Teacher:
cmooney@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Mrs V. Norris, Teacher of English:
gnorris@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Mrs V. Shearing, Teacher of English and Drama:
vshearing@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Miss G. Thain, Teacher of English: 
gthain@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Mrs A. Zalaki, ITT Co-Ordinator/ English Teacher:
azalaki@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Dr S Smith, Teacher of English: 
stsmith@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Ms H McNamara, Teacher of English:
hmcnamara@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk

Key Stage 3 Resources

Accelerated Reader

Whenever a student finishes reading a book we recommend they access our Accelerated Reader software (also called "Renaissance") to take a quiz which assess their comprehension of the text. Rewards are given throughout the year for quizes completed:

Accelerated Reader Website Link

Username: the first part of student's Bulmershe email address, e.g. Dbeckham21

Password: English1

Resources for GCSE:

PiXL-Independence-English-Literature-A-Christmas-Carol-KS-4-Student-Booklet-.pdfPiXL-Independence-English-Literature-An-Inspector-Calls-KS-4-Student-Booklet-1.pdfPiXL-Independence-English-Literature-Jekyll-and-Hyde-KS-4-Student-Booklet-.pdfPiXL-Independence-English-Literature-Lord-of-the-Flies-KS-4-Student-Booklet-.pdfBe-GCSE-Ready.pdf

GCSE-English-Language-1EN0-Writing-Tasks-AI-2022.pdf

Top-Tips-Paper-2.docx

Anita-and-Me-Knowledge-Organiser.pdf

English-Literature-An-Inspector-Calls-KO.pdf

GCSE-English-Language-1EN0-Writing-Tasks-AI-2022.pdf

Lord-of-the-Flies-Knowledge-Organiser-Web-Version.pdf

Macbeth-Knowledge-Organiser-Web-Version.pdf

Paper-1-Shakespeare-Post-1914-Literature.docx

Romeo-and-Juliet-Knowledge-Organiser-good.pdf

Further Information

Subject information and course content can be found below. If you have any further queries, please contact the Faculty Leader, Miss N, Webb nwebb@bulmershe.wokingham.sch.uk
 

English Department Long Term Plans: