Knowledge about literature fosters an understanding of life and oneself. When studying English at OMA, students will develop their understanding of the world in which they live, while preparing not only to gain successful GCSE qualifications, but also to enter society as functioning and articulate young adults with a rich cultural knowledge.
To flourish in English, students at Ormiston Maritime Academy will:
In order to achieve our vision, students read, explore and respond to a variety of texts of cultural significance.
Across Key Stage Three, students engage with a range of texts within the literary canon: three Shakespeare plays (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest and Julius Caesar); three pieces of 19th century fiction (Oliver Twist, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Jane Eyre); modern texts (Animal Farm and a collection of short stories); and a range of poetry spanning time and cultures. Key Stage Three students also develop their writing skills in discrete lessons, to provide the foundational knowledge from which creativity can emerge, while ensuring that they master key elements of communicating in English.
At Key Stage Four, students build on these foundations and explore further challenging texts from across time in which writers explore ideas about life and society. Such texts include Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Willy Russell’s musical Blood Brothers and a selection of Power and Conflict poetry spanning from the 18th to the 21st century. All students are entered for both GCSE English Language and English Literature. They also further develop their writing skills, learning to express their perspectives with confidence through viewpoint writing and to craft engaging descriptive and narrative texts.
Across both Key Stages, vocabulary is taught explicitly and revisited, including transferring it across a range of content. A student with a wide vocabulary will be empowered to articulate their ideas with clarity and precision, enabling them to better express analytical and critical thought while expanding cultural capital.