Knowledge and Skills

The Knowledge and Skills overviews show the specific English content students will learn in each unit of study throughout the year. These documents outline both the substantive knowledge (literary concepts, textual analysis, grammatical understanding) and the disciplinary skills (critical reading, creative writing, effective communication) that students will develop. Each unit is broken down to clearly identify what students need to know and what they should be able to do upon completion. Through the systematic development of both knowledge and skills, students build literacy capabilities, analytical thinking, and effective expression appropriate to their stage of learning.

Select a unit to find out more...

Romeo and Juliet

Unit Progress Criteria
Knowledge	Skills
To understand and explain what a tragedy is, including how Shakespeare adapted the genre and its key conventions. To understand and explain how a tragedy is structured and the role of the tragic hero within the play. To identify Italy on a map and understand why Shakespeare chose to set the play there. To understand and explain Elizabethan attitudes to marriage and other aspects of life in Elizabethan England, including Verona’s setting, vendetta and male bravado, and medicine. To read, comprehend, and summarise key events in the play, including the Prologue, the Vendetta, Star-Crossed Lovers, Banishment, Friar Lawrence’s plan, and the Resolution. To understand and explain the major themes of the play, such as Love, Parental Authority, Fate and Destiny, and Revenge. To understand the conventions of tragedy and the sonnet form as used in the play.	To extract explicit information from the text and infer meaning. To write formal responses to key extracts in the play and a creative response from the perspective of Friar Lawrence. To understand, remember, and use key terminology when writing or discussing the play and to support opinions with textual evidence using quotations. To discuss in a group who was responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet and analyse how Shakespeare presents Romeo as a tragic hero in Act 5, Scene 3. To make inferences and refer to evidence in the text, study setting, plot, and characterisation, and understand the work of dramatists through performance and interpretations. To write for purpose and audience, including structured essays and imaginative writing, applying grammar, vocabulary, and structure effectively. To plan, edit, and proofread written work and read play scripts. To engage in formal debates and discussions, such as "Who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?" and write Friar Lawrence’s confession explaining his involvement in the tragedy.

Gothic Fiction

Unit Progress Criteria
Knowledge	Skills
To understand and explain the conventions of Gothic Fiction and the context surrounding Gothic texts, including life in Victorian England, ideas about Science and Religion, and concepts like Fate. To explore the concept of fear and how it is employed in Gothic Fiction, and to understand how Gothic authors create appropriate settings and atmospheres. To develop and consolidate deduction and inference skills for interpreting explicit and implicit information in texts and to understand a range of new vocabulary connected to the Gothic genre. To make predictions about texts and link ideas to real-life situations and wider social contexts, including the life of Robert Louis Stevenson, scientific developments, the industrial revolution, crime, Jack the Ripper, and Sigmund Freud’s ideas of repression. To read, comprehend, and summarise a range of Gothic texts, focusing on themes such as Duality, Good vs. Evil, human nature and the supernatural, friendship and loyalty, appearances and reputation, deception, violence, religion, the sublime, and isolated landscapes. To understand Gothic tropes and conventions, as well as the structure of Gothic narratives.	To explore the language devices and techniques used by Gothic authors and apply them effectively in both imaginative and transactional writing. To research and recite a Gothic poem independently and engage in a post-poem discussion. To examine how writers structure their writing to build tension and analyse the effectiveness of tension in Gothic short stories. To evaluate how effectively tension is built in texts, such as "The Tell-Tale Heart." To read and comprehend a range of Gothic extracts and short stories, learning new vocabulary to assist with understanding context, and making inferences by referring to evidence in the text. To study setting, plot, and characterisation in Gothic literature, and write for purpose and audience, including imaginative writing and structured essays, while summarising, organising ideas, and supporting arguments with detail. To apply grammar, vocabulary, and structure effectively, draw on knowledge of literary devices, and plan, edit, and proofread written work. To engage in formal debates and discussions on Gothic themes and techniques.

Dystopian Fiction

Unit Progress Criteria
Knowledge	Skills
To understand the life of George Orwell, the context of Post-War Britain, the Russian Revolution, and how these elements relate to allegory in dystopian fiction. To understand the key themes in Orwell's work, such as irony, corruption, leadership and control, lies and deceit, the failure of plans and dreams, and propaganda, and how these themes are commonly explored in dystopian fiction. To understand common tropes and conventions in dystopian fiction, such as oppressive governments, surveillance states, loss of individual freedom, and social stratification. Examples include the totalitarian regime in Orwell's 1984, the enforced inequality in The Hunger Games, and the surveillance state in Brave New World. To understand the structure of narrative in dystopian fiction, including the depiction of a flawed society, the protagonist's struggle against the system, and the resolution or perpetuation of dystopian conditions. To understand how dystopian fiction often reflects real-world fears and critiques of contemporary society, exploring themes and scenarios that critique current social, political, and technological trends. To understand the use of allegory and symbolism in dystopian fiction, such as how Orwell's Animal Farm uses allegory to critique communism and 1984 uses symbolism to explore totalitarianism. To understand the role of the omniscient narrator, the concept of propaganda, the depiction of rebellion and scapegoats, and the portrayal of tyrants in dystopian fiction.	To understand the life of George Orwell, the context of Post-War Britain, the Russian Revolution, and how these relate to allegory in dystopian fiction. To understand and explore themes such as irony, corruption, leadership and control, lies and deceit, the failure of plans and dreams, and propaganda within dystopian fiction. To understand and apply dystopian tropes and conventions, and the structure of narrative in dystopian fiction. To write a transactional piece on a dystopian world, demonstrating understanding of dystopian tropes and conventions. To engage in group discussions, such as evaluating who was responsible for the failure of the farm and participate in formal debates and discussions. To learn and use new vocabulary to assist with understanding context and apply knowledge of literary devices in writing. To write for purpose and audience, including imaginative writing and structured essays, summarising, organising ideas, and supporting arguments with detailed evidence. To plan, edit, and proofread written work, ensuring effective application of grammar, vocabulary, and structure.

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Knowledge and Skills

Romeo and Juliet

Gothic Fiction

Dystopian Fiction

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