Our English curriculum is ambitious for all of our students. We understand the vital importance of our subject for the life chances of the young people we serve, and so strive to ensure that every child achieves a grade that will give them access to opportunity and choice beyond St Peter’s Collegiate Academy. We understand that every child deserves to be successful in English, regardless of their starting point.

Throughout our curriculum, we aim to develop students’ character, using literature and language to encourage personal reflection around the academy’s values.  We recognise the invaluable position of our subject in providing students with the opportunity to engage in discussion and debate, knowing the power of literature and language to enrich and deepen students’ perceptions of the world around them.

Key Stage 3 is designed to broaden students' experience of the range of texts studied at secondary school whilst also helping to master a range of writing, reading and speaking skills.  These core communication skills are the basis for successful engagement within English but also prepare students for their broader academic studies and their life after school.  

Students will be introduced to a full range of literature from the traditional to the modern, whilst practising a range of reading and writing tasks.  Students are assessed according to a mastery curriculum model and will be encouraged to achieve key milestones for each academic year so that they grow as English students and successfully transition towards GCSE level work.

The English Department views reading as fundamental to a student's success at school and beyond. In Key Stage 3, students participate in regular reading time which is supported by Accelerated Reader; ambitious readers (million word readers) can gain certificates and prizes.

Key Stage 4 builds solidly on the foundational skills and knowledge taught in Key Stage 3.

Students continue to study one unit a term, ensuring that even at Key Stage 4 the focus is on providing students with a depth and breadth of knowledge. We support students to be resilient when dealing with the challenge of GCSE, and aspirational about what they can achieve. We teach students to be unafraid of closed-book exams and a demanding literature specification by championing the mastery of knowledge – whether that be powerful quotations, academic language and structures, a rich tier two vocabulary or contextual details that will help them to illustrate a point of view and argument when discussing or writing about texts.  Key Stage 4 further develops students’ abilities to write academically and creatively by exploring writer’s craft and then practising it for themselves.

At Key Stage 5, the English curriculum - both English Literature and English Language and Literature - is centred around carefully chosen texts that will build on what students have learnt at Key Stage 4, but also challenge and widen their perspectives of the subject and the world around them. We have ambitious expectations for our A level students and embrace smaller class sizes as an opportunity to engage students in high-quality discussion and debate. The Key Stage 5 curriculum intends to broaden students’ understanding of literature and language while also developing specific expertise in their understanding of writer’s craft. We encourage independence of thought and study, particularly when students complete their Non-Exam Assessments, but also provide every student with the structure, support and guidance needed for them to excel. We also continually seek opportunities for students to engage with the subject outside of the classroom to broaden their experience. 

In addition to offering a broad and balanced curriculum, we aim to provide an extensive co-curricular offering of activities, clubs and trips allowing students to extend their learning beyond the classroom through all key stages.  Most recently, our Year 7 cohort visited Stratford - Upon - Avon to support their Shakespearean studies and participated in author talks held in Wolverhampton, as well as participating in the Wolverhampton Young Authors Competition. Our Key Stage 4 groups watch texts being studied brought to life on the stage at local theatres.

Good English skills support entry into any sector or career pathway. The ability to read, write an application and then present in an interview are essential skills for students to gain employment.

The list below gives some examples of possible careers for those that go on to study English at degree level.

• Education
• Advertising & Marketing 
• Law
• Recruitment & HR
• Public Sector 
• Content Creator
• Copy Editor
• Copywriter
• Editor
• Editorial Assistant
• English as a Foreign Language Teacher
• Journalist
• Marketing Executive
• Proofreader
• Publishing Assistant
• Researcher
• Scriptwriter
• SEO Executive
• Social Media Executive
• Teacher, tutor or lecturer
• Web Content Manager
• Writer
• Administrator
• Archivist
• Charity Worker
• Civil Servant