St Edmund's
English
From romance to tragedy, angels to devils and heroes to monsters, English at St Edmund’s has something for everyone.
Ours is a diverse, lively and immersive approach to the subject; we encourage pupils to read and respond to texts creatively, and so develop a lifelong love of learning and a true appreciation of culture.
Pupils beginning their studies at GCSE level read extracts from poems, learn how the literature and language of English developed, and analyse texts. This is no dry exercise, however: alongside writing a character’s pitch for kingship as part of their exposure to Shakespeare, pupils might be introduced to revolutionary ideas through folk music as they consider the importance of history to literature. And there is plenty of scope for creative expression, with pupils learning to appreciate how others write, and so identify the tricks they will themselves come to master. At A-level, pupils assess the impact of philosophy, psychology and history on literary texts, as well as evaluating literature itself as a means of criticism.
St Edmund’s English teachers are themselves passionate lifelong learners and researchers with a great breadth of knowledge, and contribute to the school’s Curiosity Shop lecture programme.
Our pupils describe English lessons as ‘’challenging and engaging’’ with an emphasis on “in-depth analysis”. Teachers “help you do well” and “enable you to be the best you can be”. Pupils also comment on the “rigorous discussion” and the “creative thinking that links poems, plays and novels to each other and the events, developments and ideas of the time they were written”. English Pupils