Welcome
Welcome to the English Department web page. At The Vale Academy, English lessons are exciting, innovative and challenging. The teachers work hard to ensure that each student reaches his or her full potential. To provide the best education for the range of ability and background within the academy, the department gives careful attention to Special Needs and students’ progress is assessed at every stage of their education. We believe we equip students with the insight, understanding and imagination that will help them to develop into mature young adults.
Mrs M Sullivan: Curriculum Leader EnglishThere are nine members of staff within the English Department:-
Mrs N Williams,: Vice Principal
Ms S King: Assistant Curriculum Leader and Curriculum Leader for Media studies
Mrs B Walker: English Teacher 
Ms Victoria Gacek: English Teacher
Mr John Regan: English Teacher
Mrs E Harvey: English Teacher
Ms A Ogman,:Instructor
Mrs C Wray, LearningMentor
At Key Stage 3
Confidence is improved through speaking and listening activities that promote and encourage independent thinking. We believe that reading is fundamental to development and students participate in regular library lessons which broaden their experiences of reading a wide range of texts. Students study several modern novels in depth, developing a range of reading strategies. They analyse a selection of poetry and explore a modern piece of drama. Students will experience an introduction to Shakespeare and read a selection of scenes from one of his plays. They will also study a range of media texts, including moving image.
Students write on a range of topics for different purposes and audiences, and adapt features and techniques to improve their writing skills. Regular self-evaluation and target-setting inform teacher assessments and encourage a sense of self-motivation.
During last year two renowned, published poets visited our department working with 'More Able' students on creating an anthology of writing. Several poems and short stories have since been published in the Young Writers' Collection. In year 8, students have the opportunity to take part in the ‘London Experience’. This is an overnight, two day excursion toLondon which includes theatre visits,Covent Garden, The London Eye and an educational tour around the city.
At Key Stage 4
Students will either study English or English Language and English Literature dependent on ability and choice. We follow the AQA specifications.
English Only
The English course is divided into three Units:
Unit 1 – Understanding and producing non-fiction tests in an exam
Unit 2 – Speaking and Listening focusing on three separate tasks
Unit 3 – Understanding and producing Creative Texts. This encourages students to produce
their own piece of creative writing and to study Shakespeare texts from different
cultures.
English Language and English Literature
The English Language course is also divided into Units:-
Unit 1 – Understand and producing non-fiction tests in an exam
Unit 2 – Speaking and Listening focusing on three separate tasks
Unit 3 – Understanding Spoken and Written texts and creative writing. This encourages
students to produce their own piece of writing and to study Shakespeare.
English Literature is divided into three Units:-
Unit 1 – a study of Modern Prose and Drama exploring cultures
Unit 2 – a selection of Poetry
Units 3 – a play from Shakespeare
Each course is assessed through Controlled Assessments and examination.
Extra support is always available for students through our weekly Catch-up Club. Teachers also hold pre-examination discussion groups to consolidate and reinforce classroom teaching. The Learning Mentor also works with students during lunchtime and after school to provide additional help.
At Key Stage 5
At A Level, students are entered for AQA English Literature. At AS, they study a selection of texts within the Unit, 'The Struggle for Identity in Modern Literature'. The groups are usually small and shared by two teachers who take the class throughout the entire course. We seek to encourage both class and individual study at a high level. Those students opting for Literature are expected to read widely, to contribute to class debate and remain open and flexible in their thinking. The course is assessed at AS by a folder of coursework and a final examination. At A2, students explore the themes in 'Love through the Ages'. They prepare a sustained comparative essay of three texts and write a response in the final examination to unseen extracts.
