English study is mandatory in NSW from Kindergarten to Year 12.
Students learn about the English language through written, spoken and visual texts of increasing complexity as they progress through their schooling.
An understanding of the English language is central to how we communicate and essential for intellectual, social and emotional development.
The study of English should develop a love of literature and learning and be challenging and enjoyable. It develops skills to enable students to experiment with ideas and expression, to become active, independent and lifelong learners, to work with each other and to reflect on their learning.
English Courses – Stage 4
Year 7 begin the year with a How to Read and Write literacy unit. They then complete a unit called Craft and Artistry which asks students to explore how ideas are represented in poetry and will experiment with their understanding of how meaning is conveyed through the clever use of literary techniques. Throughout the year, students will be studying the following units: Picture Books, Close Study of Novel and Drama.
Year 8 begin with a unit on Close Study of a Novel - The Hero's Journey. This is followed by The Art of Persuasion – Advertising, where students complete a project based learning task, pitching their own unique product Shark Tank style. Throughout the year, students will be studying the following units: Difference and Diversity and Sustainability (focusing on picture books and poetry.
English Courses – Stage 5
Year 9 begin with a unit on Protest which will provide them an opportunity to focus on how rhetoric is used to sway opinion. They will be learning more about persuasive writing in readiness for NAPLAN in this unit. Throughout the year, students will be studying the following units: Appropriation of Shakespeare, Close Study of a Novel and Representation of Adolescence.
Year 10 begin with the Film Study-Voices unit focussing on representation context and perspective. Throughout the year, students will be studying the following units: Poetry, Close Study of a Novel (with a focus on genre), Drama study, and then a How to Read and Write unit to prepare them for the senior English study.
English Courses – Stage 6
In Year 11 and 12, the study of English is mandatory. Courses offered include:
- English Standard
- English Advanced
- English Studies
- English Extension 1
- English Extension 2
- English Life Skills
The courses studied in Years 11 and 12 are as follows:
Year 11 Standard and Advanced students begin a common course Reading to Write, with a focus on what makes great writing and then applying this knowledge to their own writing. Standard students will then complete two modules: Contemporary Possibilities (Serial podcast) and Close Study of Literature (Jasper Jones) while the Advanced students will complete Narratives that Shaped our World (Othello and New Boy) and Critical Study of Literature (poetry of WH Auden).
Year 11 Extension students complete a unit on Texts, Contexts and Value, exploring the evolution, appropriation and echoes of texts over time.
Year 11 English Studies students complete a mandatory module Achieving through English, followed by modules on The Big Screen: English in Film Making and On the Road – English and Experiences in Travel. The English Studies course offers students an opportunity to complete a common course in Year 12 in order to achieve an ATAR if they so choose.
All Year 12 Advanced, Standard and English Studies classes complete the Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences, focusing on 1984 or Past the Shallows.
Year 12 Advanced English students complete a module on Textual Conversations focusing on the texts The Tempest and Hag-seed, as well as a Critical Study of Literature (T.S. Eliot) and the Craft of Writing.
Year 12 Standard English students complete a module on Language, Identity and Culture, as well as a Close Study of Literature (Robert Gray) and Craft of Writing.
Year 12 Extension 1 students complete units on Literary Worlds and one elective.
Year 12 Extension 2 complete research-based original texts which extend their studies from their senior English courses.
Year 12 English Studies also complete a unit We Are Australians, followed by Playing the Game - English in Sport and then Part of the Family - English in Family Life.