What you will learn in KS3

Specialist EAL teachers work in partnership with subject teachers to support EAL learners years 7, 8 and 9 in the mainstream classroom. EAL teachers meet regularly with subject specialists in all departments during timetabled liaison time, offering guidance in differentiating materials in order to maximise the development of literacy skills in any given group of students. In some classes teachers and bilingual assistants offer in-class support.

Students in the early stages of learning English are withdrawn once a week to work in small groups and given more intensive help with grammar and literacy, using the “Opportunities” coursebook. Topics covered include family life, school, hobbies and free time and local area and environment.

The department is well resourced to meet the needs of beginners in key Stage 3 with a variety of language games, bilingual texts and picture dictionaries.

Beginners to English participate in our “One to One Reading” and Paired Reading schemes during morning registration time.

What you will learn in KS4

Additional English is offered as an option at KS4. Students in the Years 10 and 11 Literacy groups follow the AQA Adult Literacy course, Levels 1 – 3. The course is aimed at bilingual and multilingual students who are in the early stages of English language acquisition and who may not acquire a GCSE in English.

Pupils develop their English language skills through listening, speaking, reading and writing as they progress through each level. They follow the ‘Opportunities’ textbook and study English grammar, vocabulary and language for everyday situations.

The language skills that they acquire from this course equip students to gain further qualifications, future employment and valuable life skills. Pupils also receive support
for SATs examinations and GCSE coursework in mainstream subjects and are encouraged to develop their IT skills.