English

English is both a core foundational skill and a source of creativity, curiosity, and cultural enrichment—success in this subject equips students not only for academic success but for life beyond the classroom.

Our English curriculum is designed to broaden and enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of the world. Through the study of a range of forms, genres, authors, and historical periods, we ensure that students leave Ridgeway with the confidence to read critically, write with clarity and purpose, and express informed, thoughtful opinions in both written and spoken forms.

At Key Stage 3, students engage with a rich and diverse canon of high-quality literature. This includes the study of Shakespeare, 19th-century texts such as the works of Dickens, as well as a broad range of fiction and non-fiction. Students explore poetry across time and from around the world, alongside opportunities to develop spoken language through discussion, performance, and presentation.

This provides a strong and purposeful foundation for success at Key Stage 4, where students go on to study the AQA GCSE English Language and English Literature courses.

At both Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, students are also given opportunities to engage with subjects beyond the core curriculum, including pathways into GCSE Media Studies, A Level English Literature, and A Level Media Studies, supporting aspiration and informed choice for future study.

Welcome to the English Department – Subject Leader: Mrs A Adderley

Key Stage 3

Students complete a variety of reading, writing and speaking and listening tasks whilst studying texts that relate to a range of themes.

In Year 7, students develop and enhance skills learned at Key Stage 2 though the study of:

Poetry Through The Ages
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
The Giver
The Tempest

In Year 8, students will build on their previous knowledge through the study of:

Great Expectations
Villains - Fictional
Heroes - Non-fictional
Poetry - Post-Colonial Voices
Frankenstein (play)

In Year 9, students continue to study a wide of texts, building the skills required for GCSE. Units of study include:

Romeo & Juliet
Introduction to Media Studies
War poetry
Non-Fiction Viewpoints
Victorian Crime

Students are taught through a wide range of learning activities, ensuring they are accessible and stimulating.

Y7 English Rationale and Overview 2026-2027

Y8 English Rationale and Overview 2026-2027

Y9 English Rationale and Overview 2026-2027

Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4 students follow the AQA specification for English Language and English Literature. All students have the opportunity to study both English Literature and English Language at GCSE.

Students will study a number of set texts at GCSE including:

An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley
Shakespeare’s Macbeth
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
An anthology of 15 poems linked by the central theme of Power and Conflict

Students will also have the opportunity to present on a topic of their choice and are awarded an endorsement for Spoken Language as part of the English Language GCSE qualification.

English KS4 Functional Skills Curriculum Rationale Overview

Year 10 English Rationale and Overview 2026-27

Year 11 English Rational and Overview 2026-2027

Key Stage 5

Key Stage 5 students are able to access English Literature at Ridgeway Academy.

In English Literature students study the following elements:

Drama: Tragedy – Othello, Shakespeare and A Streetcar Named Desire, Williams.
Prose: Science & Society – Frankenstein, Shelley and The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood.
Poetry – The Wife of Bath: Prologue and Tale, Chaucer and Poems of the Decade, an anthology of modern poems.

Students also complete NEA, which is an independent study of two texts and a written essay of around 3,000 words.

Our Key Stage 5 curriculum offers opportunity for academic stretch and challenge, independent research and an engaging selection of texts in the subject.

Year 12 English Literature Curriculum Rationale and Overview

Year 13 English Literature Curriculum Rationale and Overview