About the course

The KS3 English curriculum at NRC encourages a nurturing yet challenging environment for young people to learn, take risks and make progress. Our vision as a department is to provide a rigorous curriculum that ensures accelerated progress without losing the creativity and self-expression that makes our subject so special.

We follow a comprehensive curriculum map that ensures students are exposed to a rich variety of texts, and we provide opportunities for students to experiment with a range of writing styles. However, we also offer a bespoke journey for students when required. Because a strong command of language is essential for so many careers, we are able to adapt and adjust our plans to suit the needs and interests of our students while maintaining high expectations.

Our KS3 students have been working on the following projects: Cooking Up A Storm, Jennifer's Boutique Salon and the Spice of Life Black Awareness event

Each year, students will have the opportunity to read a wide range of novels, explore poetry from around the world, and perform, study and watch plays. Our teachers are passionate about sourcing articles and opinion pieces that inspire our students and cultivating their personal responses to relevant issues. While there will be an agreed focus in terms of the skills and knowledge that students will develop, class teachers plan their own resources and decide their own texts based on their knowledge of the students in their class.

Click on the link to view our KS3 English curriculum map. 

Additional support

Classes at New River College have no more than six students and often fewer. We also have a team of Learning Support Assistants who can offer one-to-one support to students when required. Outside of English lessons, we offer additional support to ensure our students are making good progress in their reading, writing and speaking. This includes:

• baseline testing, which identifies barriers to learning
• high-quality teaching with bespoke planning for students
• literacy profiles used by teachers and Learning Support Assistants across all subjects
• Word Aware across all subjects to develop the curriculum
• one-to-one literacy sessions that tackle specific barriers
• regular assessments to check for progress and review interventions
• reading one-to-one with a trusted adult
• Lexia and McGraw for the development of phonics
• memory games to support comprehension
• immersive reading to promote a love of reading and provide support with exploring a text’s ‘big ideas’.
  
  

Qualifications and accreditation  

Students have an opportunity to complete the following courses with us at Key Stage 3:

• The Bronze Arts award
• Entry Level 1, 2 & 3

These are nationally recognised qualifications and along with the rest of the curriculum, help build the skillset and resilience students need for GCSE.

Enrichment and homework 

There are plenty of opportunities for students to develop their enjoyment of English and enhance their cultural capital through visits to the theatre, visits from authors and workshops with lots of different industries.

Homework at KS3 is set weekly. It may be to complete an activity ahead of a particular lesson (flipped learning), log in to Lexia to develop reading or independent writing skills to consolidate learning in a previous lesson. Opportunities for students to complete additional work with support are provided if required. 

Student assessment

• Upon entry, students sit a baseline reading and writing paper. They also complete an online assessment which provides us with a reading age for them.
• Teachers will provide verbal and written feedback to students on their class and homework at regular intervals.
• At the end of half term, students will sit an assessment in class. They will be given feedback and an opportunity to improve.
• At the end of each term, students are graded according to the Pearson’s Steps, which correspond to GCSE grades 1 to 9.

Parents will receive a termly report about what went well for their child, as well as ways forward to improve wellbeing and progress.