Welcome!

Hello to all Highgate Wood School KS4 students!

Over the next few months you should see more and more resources on this blog to support and enrich your GCSE English studies. Year 10 - scroll down for more information.

YEAR 11

Right now, over in the 'useful links' section, you should see a link to some useful revision tools that students are making about the many poems you need to know before your final English and English literature exams. Please have a look and keep coming back to see what else has been added.

As you are well aware, the exams are creeping ever closer and you should be well into your revision by now. In English, this can sometimes be difficult. There are very few 'facts' to learn, and there are so many different skills that are needed. Remind yourself of all the different things you will do in the exams:

English - Paper 1
A. READING: answer questions on unseen texts
B. WRITING to persuade, argue and advise

English - Paper 2
A. READING: answer essay question comparing 2 poems from different cultures
B. WRITING to describe, explain and inform

English Literature
- Answer essay question on 'Of Mice and Men'
- Answer essay question comparing 4 poems (poems by Duffy & Armitage and poems from the Pre-1914 Bank)

So, we are looking for your ideas for active revision strategies for English. These should be alternatives to just reading through your notes. For example, in preparation for the unseen texts section of Paper 1, we recommend that you read through the newspaper or a magazine each day and 'SPLAT' three different texts inside. This means identifying the SUBJECT, PURPOSE, LAYOUT & LANGUAGE, AUDIENCE and TEXT TYPE (article, editorial, advertisement etc.) of each text. You can even do it for the leaflets that fall out from between the pages (the ones that usually end up in the bin). This revsion method is fast, easy, and gets you in the habit of quickly reading for meaning.

Click on the 'comments' link below and post up your ideas and strategies (you will need a gmail address to do this)

YEAR 10

Year 10s should now all have completed 4 pieces of coursework (Pre-1914 prose, Shakespeare, post-1914 drama, and a piece of original writing). Great work! Only one more to go....

If you have any work outstanding, it is essential that you see your teacher as soon as possible to organise getting the work handed in.


You should all now be working hard on review writing. If you are short of ideas, why not check out this BBC review site: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/gateways/latest/review/cinema/index.shtml

Things to look out for:
- the kind of information given
- opinions and judgements
- informal language
- amusing and entertaining style
- the structure and organisation of the review

Good luck!