English

Cobham Free School’s English department endeavours to foster a lifelong love of literature and language in every student. We actively promote a reading culture at CFS, acknowledging and advocating the numerous benefits of reading for pleasure as well as for information. Through the study of a wide range of literature, we intend to embed the subject knowledge required to analyse and evaluate a range of texts and perspectives effectively. We strive to support students in improving both their written and verbal communication skills, ensuring that they are able to use accurate standard English and are adept at adapting their language to suit a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. Our emphasis on classroom discussion encourages students to speak fluently so that they can communicate their ideas clearly and are equipped with a strong command of language. We also aim to encourage independent learning through challenging and differentiated activities. 

Key Stage 3 - English

Key Stage 4 - English Language and English Literature

AQA English Language (8700) and English Literature (8702)

How assessedAll students will take both English Language and English Literature and will achieve two separate GCSE grades. They will sit four exams in total. The Literature exams are closed book and students are expected to know by heart a large selection of quotations. The best way to help your child is to encourage them to re-read their set texts, ask them questions about their texts and test them on memorised quotations. For English Language, reading widely in fiction and non-fiction is essential. Language content

Paper 1 - Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing

Section A: Literature fiction text (unseen)

Section B: Descriptive or narrative writing

Paper 2 - Writers' Viewpoints and Perspectives

Section A: Reading two non-fiction texts (unseen)

Section B: Writing to present a viewpoint

Spoken Language 

Literature content

• Macbeth

• Jekyll and Hyde

• An Inspector Calls 

• Power and Conflict Poetry Anthology 

• Unseen poetry