“He reads too much: such men are dangerous”William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

The English Department at King’s Ely Senior believes that reading is dangerous: dangerous, because it opens each student’s potential to a world of ideas. We are a literature-led department: we aim to foster a love of reading that will last student’s a lifetime, enabling them to question the world around them rather than passively accept its ideas.

All students are introduced to Shakespeare, prose and poetry in Year 7. We give them a good grounding in the classics of literature. Research shows people become good speakers and writers if they read widely. Thus, we help students develop as writers of stories, poems, literary essays and, of course, teach them spelling, grammar and punctuation.

We work closely with both GCSE and A Level examination boards and some of our teachers are markers for the boards. This close relationship keeps us informed about changes to the curriculum and helps us to respond accordingly and efficiently.

The department takes theatre trips, runs the debating society and oversees the student magazine. English Literature is a popular choice at A Level. After A Level, many of our students study English courses at university. They have read much and are hungry to know more.