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English

The English Faculty is a very successful faculty, which regularly achieves outstanding results at all key stages

Students are set according to ability.

Opportunities exist within each academic year, for students to be moved between groups, to ensure that their needs continue to be effectively met.

The English Faculty offers exciting opportunities for students to engage with the study of English and Drama. We participate in many enrichment activities such as the ‘Jack Petchey Speak Out’ challenge and the students enjoy theatre trips, visits to student conferences and study days and visits from theatre companies.

To view the English Curriculum Maps - Click here

KS5 recommended reading list

KS5 recommended reading list: Students should aim to read at least two books from each section during KS5.

Literature students should make notes where this is relevant to the texts studied for A Level

*Texts on the A Level syllabus

**Texts that link to those on the A Level Literature syllabus

*** Film/TV/play versions available for comparative study

Recommended for all readers:

Recommended for readers studying English Literature (including texts on the A Level syllabus*)

Pre-20th Century Fiction:

 

Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte***

Wuthering Heights: Emily Bronte***

Great Expectations: Charles Dickens***

The Sign of Four: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle***

Tales: Edgar Allen Poe

Far From the Madding Crowd: Thomas Hardy***

Pre-20th Century Fiction:

 

Emma: Jane Austen** and ***

Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen** and ***

Bleak House: Charles Dickens***

The Turn of the Screw: Henry James** and ***

The Picture of Dorian Gray: Oscar Wilde** and ***

Tess of the d’Urbervilles: Thomas Hardy***

Classic 20th Century Fiction:

 

The Woman in Black: Susan Hill***

Lord of the Flies: William Golding***

To Kill a Mockingbird: Harper Lee***

The Catcher in the Rye: JD Salinger

Classic 20th Century Fiction:

 

The Great Gatsby: F Scott Fitzgerald* and ***Their Eyes Were Watching God: Zora Neale Hurston

Rebecca: Daphne du Maurier** and ***

All Quiet on the Western Front: E M Remarque**and ***

Modern Fiction:

 

Atonement: Sebastian Faulks

The Kite Runner: Khaled Hosseini** and ***

White Teeth: Zadie Smith***

The Color Purple: Alice Walker***

Modern Fiction:

 

A Long Long Way: Sebastian Barry*

Regeneration: Pat Barker (trilogy)** and ***

Birdsong: Sebastian Faulks* and ***

Spies: Michael Frayn

A Thousand Splendid Suns: Khaled Hosseini**

Science Fiction and Fantasy:

 

The Passage: Justin Cronin (trilogy)***

The Chaos Walking Trilogy: Patrick Ness

The Dark Materials Trilogy: Philip Pullman***

Science Fiction and Fantasy

 

The Road: Cormac McCarthy***

Woman on the Edge of Time: Marge Piercy**

The Handmaid’s Tale: Margaret Atwood** and ***

Biography/Autobiography

 

Becoming: Michelle Obama

The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole… Mary Seacole

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit: Jeanette Winterson***

Biography/Autobiography

 

Testament of Youth: Vera Brittain** and ***

Goodbye to All That: Robert Graves**

The Woman Warrior: Maxine Hong Kingston**

Poetry:

 

Passport to Here and There: Grace Nichols

Ariel: Sylvia Plath

 

Poetry:

 

The Songs of Innocence and Experience: William Blake*

The World’s Wife: Carol Ann Duffy: **

The poems of Wilfred Owen**

Plays:

 

Ruined: Lynn Nottage

Blood Brothers: Willy Russell

The Importance of Being Earnest: Oscar Wilde***

Plays:

 

Journey’s End: RC Sherriff* and ***

Antony and Cleopatra: William Shakespeare ***

Othello: William Shakespeare* and ***

‘Lighter’ reading:

Station Eleven: Emily St John Mandel – possibly the best post-apocalyptic, ‘after the plague’ novel of recent years!

After the Hole: Guy Burt*** - gripping horror set in a school

The Hunt: Andrew Fukuda (series) – an intelligent vampire horror series with an alternative perspective on things with fangs!

The Other Boleyn Girl: Philippa Gregory*** - recommended

 for those who enjoy historical fiction

Little Face: Sophie Hannah (series) – crime

Wool: Hugh Howey (trilogy) – an exciting sci-fi series

Never Let Me Go: Kazuo Ishiguro – a moving, terrifying and all too-believable dystopian horror story set in an alternate vision of modern England***

The Games of Thrones: G R R Martin (series) ***

Before I Fall: Lauren Oliver – tear-jerking fantasy aimed at teens but engaging, believable and thought-provoking

The Secret History: Donna Tartt – psychological thriller set in a US college

KS4 Recommended Reading List

KS4 Recommended Reading List: Students should aim to read at least one book from each section every half term. Tick off the titles on the list below as you read each text.

*More challenging

** More challenging and some ‘adult’ content (parents may wish to read these books first)

*** Film/TV and/or play interpretations available for comparative study

Easy reading

Moving forwards

More challenging

Pre-20th century fiction:

 

Black Beauty: Anna Sewell***

Heidi: Johanna Spyri***

 

 

 

Pre-20th century fiction:

 

The Three Musketeers: Alexandre Dumas***

Little Women: Louisa May Alcott***

Oliver Twist: Charles Dickens***

Pre-20th century fiction:

 

David Copperfield: Charles Dickens***

Far From the Madding Crowd: Thomas Hardy

Great Expectations: Charles Dickens***

Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte***

The Woman in White: Wilkie Collins

Classic 20th century fiction:

 

Eagle of the Ninth: Rosemary Sutcliff***

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Mildred D. Taylor

Swallows and Amazons: Arthur Ransome (series)***

Classic 20th century fiction:

 

Anne of Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery***

Call of the Wild: Jack London***

Of Mice and Men: John Steinbeck***

 

Classic 20th century fiction:

 

A Kestrel for a Knave: Barry Hines***

I’m the King of the Castle: Susan Hill

To Kill a Mockingbird: Harper Lee***

Travels With My Aunt: Graham Greene***

Wide Sargasso Sea: Jean Rhys

Modern Fiction:

 

Bone Talk: Candy Gourlay

Looking for Alaska: John Greene** and ***

On the Come Up: Angie Thomas**

Out of Heart: Irfan Master

The Poet X: Elizabeth Acevedo**

Modern Fiction:

 

A Burnt Child: Shereen Pandit**

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Mark Haddon**

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: Helen Grant

Modern Fiction:

 

Anita and Me: Meera Syal**

Pigeon English: Stephen Kelman**

The Book Thief: Marcus Zusak**

The Familiars: Stacey Halls**

The Jungle: Pooja Puri**

The Tattooist of Auschwitz: Heather Morris**

The Trouble With Goats and Sheep: Joanna Cannon**

Poetry

 

Funky Chickens: Benjamin Zephaniah

Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats: TS Eliot

The Fat Black Woman’s Poems: Grace Nichols

Poetry

 

Death of a Naturalist: Seamus Heaney

Half-caste and Other Poems: John Agard

On the Move: Michael Rosen

Selected Poems: Gillian Clarke

Poetry

 

Collected poems: Chinua Achebe**

Collected poems: UA Fanthorpe

Death of a Naturalist: Seamus Heaney

Island Man: Grace Nichols

Selected Poems: Simon Armitage

Biography/Autobiography

 

All Creatures Great and Small: James Herriot***

Badass Black Girl: MJ Fievre

Chinese Cinderella: Adeline Yen Mah

 

Biography/Autobiography

 

Girl Code: Going Viral and Getting it Done: Angela Gonzales

My Family & Other Animals: Gerald Durrell***

The Book of Awesome Women: edited by Becca Anderson

Biography/Autobiography

 

Becoming: Michelle Obama

I am Malala: Malala Yousafzai**

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Phillip Hoose**

They Called Us Enemy: George Takei**

Science Fiction, Dystopian fiction, Fantasy and Horror

 

Before I Fall: Lauren Oliver**

Chasing the Stars: Malorie Blackman:

Delirium Trilogy: Lauren Oliver

How I Live Now: Meg Rosoff** and***

Science Fiction, Dystopian fiction, Fantasy and Horror

A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars: Yaba Badoe

Girls of Paper and Fire: Natasha Ngan

Matched Trilogy: Ally Conde

The Wind Singer: William Nicholson (series)

Science Fiction, Dystopian fiction, Fantasy and Horror

1984: George Orwell** and ***

I, Robot: Isaac Asimov***

Mortal Engines: Philip Reeve***

The Chaos Walking Trilogy: Patrick Ness

The Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien***

The Dark Materials Trilogy:

Philip Pullman***

The Woman in Black: Susan Hill** and ***

Student Recommendations:

 

Modern Fiction:

 

 

 

If I Stay: Gayle Forman***

Princess in Practice: Connie Glynn**

Soulmates: Holly Bourne

The Names They Gave Us: Emory Lord

The Sun is Also a Star: Nicola Yoon

THUG: Angie Thomas**

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction,

Dystopian fiction, Fantasy and Horror

 

‘Divergent’ Trilogy: Veronica Roth***

Frozen Charlotte: Alex Bell**

‘Gone’ (series): Michael Grant

‘Slated’ Trilogy: Teri Terry

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games Trilogy: Suzanne Collins***

 

 

 

Crime/Mystery:

 

 

 

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder: Holly Jackson

The Disappearances: Emily Bain Murphy

Two Can Keep a Secret: Karen M McManus

Books I have read:

 

Autumn Term:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Term:

 

 

Summer Term:

My Reading Wishlist:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KS3 Recommended Reading List

KS3 recommended reading list: You should read at least two books from each section during KS3 (years 7, 8 and 9) and keep a record:

*More challenging and/or ‘adult’ content (parents may wish to read these books first) 

** Film/TV and/or play interpretations available 

Easy reading

Moving forwards…

Fancy a challenge?

Modern fiction

 

Saffy’s Angel: Hilary McKay

 

Love Aubrey: Suzanne La Fleur

 

A Boy Called Hope: Lara Williamson

 

The Fastest Boy in the World: Elizabeth Laird

 

Wonder: RJ Palacio

Modern fiction

 

A Good Day for Climbing Trees: Jaco Jacobs 

 

Boy at the Back of the Class: Onjali Q Raúf 

 

Can You See Me?: Libby Scott 

 

Happy Girl Lucky: Holly Smale*

 

One of Us is Lying: Karen M. McManus*

Modern fiction

 

Everything, Everything: Nicola Yoon*

 

Five Children on the Western Front: Kate Saunders

 

The Hunt: Andrew Fukuda (series)* (parental advisory: horror)

 

The Goldfish Boy: Lisa Thompson

 

Where the World Ends: Geraldine McCaughrean

 

Science Fiction and Fantasy

 

A Pocketful of Stars: Aisha Bushby

 

Ghost Boys: Jewell Parker Rhodes

 

Harry Potter: JK Rowling (series)**

 

Lampie: Annet Schnapp

 

I am Number Four: Pittacus Lore (and sequels)

 

Ingo: Helen Dunmore

Science Fiction and Fantasy

 

Chaos Walking Trilogy: Patrick Ness*

**

Brother in the Land: Robert Swindells*

 

 The Boy in the Tower: Polly Ho Yen

 

The Girl of Ink and Stars: Kiran Millwood Hargrave

 

The House with Chicken Legs: Sophie Anderson

 

The Restless Girls: Jessie Burton

 

Red Queen Series: Victoria Aveyard

Science Fiction and Fantasy

 

Inkheart Trilogy: Cornelia Funke

 

Noughts and Crosses: Malorie Blackman (series)**

 

Nowhere on Earth: Nick Lake**

 

Railhead: Philip Reeve

 

What Sunny Saw in the Flames: Nnedi Okorafor (series)

 

The Lie Tree: Frances Hardinge*

 

Where the River Runs Gold: Sita Brahmachari

Crime/Mystery/Adventure

 

A Different Dog: Paul Jennings

 

High Rise Mystery: Sharna Jackson

 

SMART: Kim Slater

Crime/Mystery/Adventure

 

Girl. Boy. Sea: Chris Vick

 

The Falconer’s Knot: Mary Hoffman

 

The Murder Mysteries: Robin Stevens (series)

Crime/Mystery/Adventure

 

Dead Time: Anne Cassidy

( The Murder Notebooks series)*

 

Catching Teller Crow: A. Kwaymullina and E. Kwaymullina*

 

You’re Not Here: Tariq Mehmood*

Classic 20th century fiction

 

The Little House on the Prairie: Laura Ingalls Wilder (series)**

 

101 Dalmatians: Dodie Smith**

 

Why the Whales Came:  Michael Morpurgo

 

 

Classic 20th century fiction

 

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe: CS Lewis (series)

 


Eagle of the Ninth: Rosemary Sutcliff**

 

The Secret Garden: Frances Hodgson Burnett**

Classic 20th century fiction

 

Lord of the Flies: William Golding* (parental advisory: some violence)

 

 

Anne of Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery**

 

The Woman in Black:  Susan Hill *  (parental advisory: horror)

 

The Chrysalids: John Wyndham

 

Watership Down: Richard Adams

Pre-20th century fiction 

 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: 

Lewis Carroll** 

 

Black Beauty: Anna Sewell** 

Pre-20th century fiction 

 

What Katy Did: Susan Coolidge 

 

Heidi: Johanna Spyri** 

Pre-20th century fiction 

 

Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte**

 

 Little Women: Louisa May Alcott** 

Biography/Autobiography

 

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit: Judith Kerr

 

Biography/Autobiography

 

Diary of Anne Frank: Anne Frank

Biography/Autobiography

 

My Family & Other Animals: Gerald Durrell

 

 

Student Recommendations:

 

An Abundance of Katherines: John Green

 

The Book Thief: Markus Zusak* (parental advisory: war, death)

 

Paper Towns: John Green

 

Skulduggery Pleasant (series): Derek Landy

 

Heroes: Robert Cormier* (parental advisory: war, death, violence)

 

Refugee Boy: Benjamin Zephaniah

 

Oddity: Eli Brown

 

Girl Missing: Sophie McKenzie

 

A Year Without Autumn: Liz Kessler

 

North of Nowhere: Liz Kessler

 

The Strange Adventures of Charlotte Holmes: Hillary Bailey

 

Listening for Lucca: Suzanne LaFleur

 

The House of Silk: Anthony Horowitz

 

The Cruel Prince: Holly Black

 

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July 11
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July 11
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July 5
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July 4
Last week's edition of our newsletter was so jam packed, it was very difficult to pick the highlights for you. Catch up with a mammoth DofE special edition alongside our 6th Form induction, London cultural trip, sporting triumphs and so much more https://t.co/P7iAtGPXiY pic.twitter.com/BSiNPqcSub
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June 30
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June 30
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June 29
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June 29
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June 28
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June 28
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June 27
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June 26
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June 26
Year 9- the prestigious DofE qualification is now open for you! https://t.co/Hv07uJk1GA
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June 26
A fabulous prom, a budding Year 7 poet, charity events, our up and coming STEM week and so much more. Catch up with all our news at https://t.co/P7iAtGPXiY pic.twitter.com/qoqAkXIn3D
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June 23
Thank you, teachers! Your support, care and guidance of our quite brilliant Year 10s is hugely appreciated. https://t.co/pNTtskGvUD
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June 22
Our Year 11s turned up for their prom! We all had such a great night. Congratulations on the successful completion of your Secondary School Education 🎉🥳 pic.twitter.com/BWpwWb3Hhi
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June 21
Looking forward to celebrate with our Year 11s at their prom. Thank you for having us. I wonder if Mrs Hodgson can hold her poker face all night 😉 pic.twitter.com/UXXPW5iXYm
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