English lessons provide an opportunity to focus on language and communication skills, which are vital to our students’ achievement, success, and fulfilment in the worlds of education, work, and citizenship. Students will read lots of literature that is age-appropriate yet challenging, often dovetailing with the Social Studies curriculum. A choice and range of short fiction and book extracts are used to facilitate close analysis and comparative literary studies, while ensuring access and support for all English learning needs. Assignments and teaching practice are constructed around the facilitation and support of individual and small group study, focussed on reading, writing, and word work. Students will build a diverse portfolio of writing, including expository/descriptive, narrative, persuasive, analytical, and creative. They will learn how to write an essay and make an informed, cogent, and supported argument, both written and oral. In the process, alongside Social Studies lessons, we will train our students as increasingly confident and independent readers, writers, library users, researchers, and analysts.