Staff:
Mr A Crosbie – Curriculum Leader
Ms R Aulich
Ms S Bainbridge
Ms J Barrett
Mrs E Connell
Mrs J Fairhurst
Mrs F Kirkwood
Ms S McGough
English
Mr M Roskilly
Mrs S Sawers
Mrs E Sturm
Mr C Watt
Mrs L Wood
The English Department at James Gillespie’s is committed to promoting a life-long love of reading, as well as critical thinking and social awareness. Personal reading is actively encouraged in each year group, through library periods and personal reading time in class.
The curriculum across all year groups offers the opportunity to engage with novels, short stories, non-fiction articles, film, documentaries, plays and poetry. Texts will be explored through group activities as well as individual work, and students will practise textual analysis, as well as critical essays. Discussion, listening and presentation skills are an integral part of the pupils’ experiences in English. Students also have opportunities to use their imagination and to produce their own creative pieces, developing skills in style and structure.
Classes are mixed ability in all year groups.
Our Courses
Broad General Education
Pupils in S1-S3 undertake a common course that exposes them to all the experiences and outcomes in English and Literacy as set out by Education Scotland, developing skills in Reading, Writing, Talking and Listening. A range of texts will be used to facilitate the broadening of pupils’ literacy skills including: Shakespeare, Classic and Contemporary Fiction, Poetry, Graphic Novels, Non-Fiction, Film, Audio Clips and Still Images.
English assessment reflects Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes, and pupils are encouraged to set targets to plan for their success. All students receive regular feedback either oral or written and be given the opportunity to develop their self and peer assessment skills. Reading for Understanding/Analysis/Evaluation assessments are given each year to identify areas of strength and development. Good work folders are used to collect best pieces of work and are carried on from one year to the next to continue the Literacy journey. All folios for the Nat 5 award are completed in S3.
National English
By September of S4, Nat 5 folios are finalised and stored electronically ready to be sent to the SQA. In May of S4, the vast majority of students sit the Nat 5 exam. A small number are awarded Nat 4 in English and Literacy.
National 4 Overview
To achieve the National 4 English Course, learners must pass all the required Units. National 4 courses are not graded and there is no final examination.
- Reading assessment on text
- Comparison 2 texts (Added Value Unit)
- Listening assessment
- Speaking assessment
- 1 piece non-fiction writing
(speaking and writing based on research)
National 5 Overview
Folio 30% – 2 essays
* 1 Broadly discursive /15
* 1 Broadly Creative /15
Exam 70% – 2 papers
Paper 1 – Reading for Understanding/Analysis/Evaluation (Close reading) 30%
* Read one article and answer questions /30
Paper 2 – Critical Reading 40%
* Textual Analysis on a Scottish text /20
* 1 Critical Essay on a range of genres /20
Candidates cannot answer on the same genre on these two questions.
Higher English
In S5, pupils progress to Nat 5 or Higher, as appropriate.
Higher Course outline
Folio 30% – 2 essays
* 1 Broadly discursive /15
* 1 Broadly Creative /15
Exam 70% – 2 papers
Paper 1 – Reading for Understanding/Analysis/Evaluation (Close reading) 30%
* Read one article and answer questions. Final 5 mark question to compare main ideas with second article. /30
Paper 2 – Critical Reading 40%
* Textual Analysis on a Scottish text /20
* 1 Critical Essay on a range of genres /20
Candidates cannot answer on the same genre on these two questions.
Advanced Higher English
The Advanced Higher course is designed for students with a real interest in English Literature. The sophisticated analysis and critical thinking required in this course makes it an excellent preparation for a variety of University courses, particularly those which involve considerable reading and extended writing, such as Humanities.
Assessment
The Course assessment will take the form of:
- a portfolio through which will contain two pieces of writing AND
- the dissertation AND
- an external examination through which learners will write a critical response on drama or prose, and undertake a textual analysis of an unseen poem or extract from a poem, demonstrating an in-depth knowledge and understanding of complex and sophisticated literary text(s).
For further information on the courses, materials and the skills we offer, please follow the links below: