English

Our English curriculum at Paddington creates independent, curious and happy learners, who love English and are welcomed and challenged to think hard through our rich curriculum. We foster discourse and debate, an academic curiosity and seek to embolden students to be reflective and articulate young people, ready to be change makers. 

Reading is at the heart of our curriculum with text choices that are carefully sequenced and become progressively more challenging and complex to enable students to become confident and fluent readers. At the core of students’ studies is a diverse range of rich literature which expose students to complex themes, ideas and characters, and helps to shape and challenge their own views of the wider world. We believe it is important that all students study these high-quality texts which also address universal ideas and offer both a ‘mirror’ and a ‘window’ to the world in which we live.

We ensure that every student has a secure foundational knowledge of the English language, including a secure understanding of grammar and its importance in writing. We know the importance of students being able to write fluently and in a variety of contexts, and writing lessons focus on explicitly teaching and rehearsing the knowledge and skills required to do so confidently. We encourage discussion and debate around issues and give students the tools to create an informed personal response. Modelling underpins every lesson in order to teach students how to communicate confidently and fluently when speaking and writing independently.

The curriculum is sequenced chronologically, so students are able to build a rich understanding of literary history and the progression of thought through the ages. English is a place where all students thrive and are given the opportunity to explore their own voice and the world around them.