King Edward VI Shakespeare's School | Stratford-upon-Avon

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We strive to stimulate thinking and to encourage intellectual curiosity, lively debate and a love of words.

The English Department aims to develop students’ skills and confidence so that they may become a critical reader and communicator.

Students will study a wide range of texts throughout their years at the School including drama, poetry, novels and non-fiction and media texts. In addition, their skills in speaking and listening will be developed, along with their ability to debate and offer personal and informed opinions about the texts they study.

Key Stage 3 is a two-year course designed to excite the students’ interest in the written word in a variety of forms. Students will undertake a wide range of tasks and will be assessed using National Curriculum standards.

GCSE study begins in Year 9 and all students will prepare for the AQA GCSE English Language and English Literature qualifications. Students in their first year will develop the skills required at GCSE by studying a complete novel, a Shakespeare play and a range of non-fiction texts. At the end of Year 11, our students will take examinations in English Language and English Literature.

At A Level, we follow the OCR English Literature course, which gives students the opportunity to study texts from across time, stretching from Chaucer and Renaissance drama to recent novels and poetry. Our Sixth Form lessons are built around discussion and debate, echoing Italo Calvino's idea that 'A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.'