Each class has 7 periods of English across a fortnight timetable in Years 7 and 8, increasing to 8 in Year 9. We work hard to foster a love of reading during Key Stage 3, with one session each week taking place in the LRC. In addition, we carefully select our key texts to ensure students are engaged as well as challenged. Learners in Year 7, 8 and 9 are taught in mixed ability sets. Regular monitoring of progress occurs during the year using common assessments for each topic and external national assessments. Our Year 9 curriculum is a transition year to GCSE – we do not teach the texts of the GCSE course but focus on preparing learners by ensuring skills and knowledge required for success at GCSE are embedded.

Learners receive homework regularly with weekly SparxReader homeworks to develop reading, recall and comprehension skills as well as developing enjoyment of reading. Those who reach the Gold level can even chose their own books to add the website. As learners progress, they will have access to a new vocabulary and a range of texts, and can thus develop their reading independently alongside their library/independent reading books, which all learners are expected to have with them every day in school and be reading for at least 1 hour each week. For more information re SparxReader, please visit:  Sparx Reader - Home. Finally, all learners will receive an online writing homework each fortnight, allowing them to develop independence and confidence at a wide range of written tasks for different purposes and in different forms. These will provide them with guidance and examples to help them work at home and will then be assessed in class each fortnight. 

Year 7 Student Curriculum Map - 2024

Year 8 Student Curriculum Map - 2024

Year 9 Student Curriculum Map - 2024

Students are placed in mixed ability classes and pursue the AQA GCSE qualifications.  Our teaching time is 9 hours per fortnight in Year 10 and 8 hours per fortnight in Year 11 to deliver the English Literature and English Language GCSEs. A small number of selected learners also undertake the Step Up to English qualifications to ensure that all learners attain at least one qualification in English.

The English Language course consists of 2 papers taken at the end of the two years assessing learners’ ability to read and respond to both fiction and non-fiction texts and their ability to write to describe and to express an opinion. In addition, there is a Spoken Language presentation which is assessed by the class teacher.

The English Literature course consists of 2 papers taken at the end of the course. These provide learners the opportunity to show their understanding of a Modern Text (An Inspector Calls or Lord of the Flies), a Shakespearean tragedy (Romeo and Juliet), a 19th century novel (Jekyll and Hyde) and Poetry (some of which is studied from the 'Power and Conflict' cluster, some of which will be unseen).

The link to the AQA website can be found here.

Learners continue to receive homework at Key Stage 4 as we encourage revision and consolidation of the texts at home. The resources we currently use to develop understanding of the GCSE texts are Seneca Learning and GCSE Pod. English teachers will give students a 'Crawshaw revision guide' towards each text, but learners may also decide to purchase study guides provided by York Notes or CGP. Finally, there is plenty of support available online through our 'Year 10 English' and 'Year 11 English' Teams areas, as well as a variety of websites such as BBC Bitesize and 'Mr Bruff' on YouTube.

Year 10 Course Outline 2024-25

Year 11 Course Outline 2024-25

Our Curriculum Intent

Our Media Studies curriculum is designed to encourage our students to become perceptive, critical thinkers. They develop an awareness that a medium is a form of communication that is carefully constructed to deliver a particular message, and are encouraged to seek reasons for such constructions.

Our aim is to promote confident, reasoned thinking in our students and to develop in them an ability to challenge the representations that they see around themselves. We expose them to a wide range of media forms from both the past and present. By discussing these, we encourage them to acknowledge the perspectives of others, form their own views about the representations in particular media texts, consider the reasons for such representations and reach conclusions about how these reflect our ever-changing society.

We challenge our students to articulate these ideas in writing that is fluent, informed and purposefully structured, and that makes reference to the key concepts underlying the subject. In addition to analysis and evaluation, we encourage our students to develop their creative, visual skills by giving them the opportunity to produce media texts of their own.

 Our focus on careers and enrichment activities creates a link between the classroom and the world beyond, and allows our students to recognise how their acquired skills can be transferred to the workplace. Our curriculum is one that is highly relevant and thought-provoking, and one that aims to broaden our students’ horizons.

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Do you enjoy engaging with the media, questioning what you see and hear, and analysing the ways in which people, places and issues are represented? Do you ever wonder why a media product may be so appealing to its audience? Then Media Studies could be for you!

The Course and Home Learning

GCSE Media is a highly popular course at Crawshaw – our students comment that it is varied, engaging and most importantly to them, it is relevant. Media Studies can pave the way for a wide range of careers including journalism, advertising and marketing, publishing, social media and events management, TV/radio production, teaching/lecturing, public relations, ICT, web content management and writing. 

GCSE Media Studies is currently offered to students in Year 9 (two classes) and to students in Years 10 and 11 (three classes in Year 10; two classes in Y11).  Our learners are placed in mixed ability groups, and have access to the editing software installed on our iPads and computers.  Students following the two year course have five hours of Media teaching per fortnight; students following the three year course have four. 

Students follow the Eduqas Media Studies course which is linear, and covers a huge range of media forms including Television, Music Videos, Film, Advertising, Magazines, Newspapers, Radio and Video Games. In addition to the two examinations at the end of Year 11, our students have the opportunity to design a DVD cover and a film poster (NEA) which count for 30% of their final grades.

Learners receive regular homework involving independent research, design work and exam practice. Their teachers may also set them a Seneca Learning assignment to complete. Students are given topic booklets from which they work in the classroom. These include new information, model answers and challenges which students may be asked to complete at home. Finally, extra support can be gained from the BBC GCSE Bitesize website.

The Media department is keen that students experience the media world outside of the school gates and to date, our students have taken part in an IntoFilm Film Festival, have visited Emmerdale Studios and have participated in an Animation workshop with Pudsey Library.  We also take our Year 10 students to Huddersfield University to participate in an annual media careers day.

Media Curriculum Map Year 9 3yr

Media Curriculum Map Year 10 2yr

Media Curriculum Map Year 10 3yr

Media Curriculum Map Year 11 2yr

Media Curriculum Map Year 11 3yr

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The link to the Eduqas website can be found here –

http://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/media-studies/gcse/