Our aspiration for the study of English is that it should offer boys a way of understanding people, with all their emotions and motivations; of understanding our country and its vast literary heritage; and of understanding the wider world, with its diverse inter-relationships and modes of communication.
Furthermore, we want the boys to read! Books, texts, advertising… indeed anything of value so that they think about how people are presented and how the language used is dynamic, exciting and ever-changing. Pupils examine a variety of texts and these span the centuries, from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales to Atonement, a 21st-century work studied at A-level. We aim to help them find a type or genre of literature which they enjoy reading, be that novels, poetry or high-quality journalism, and to appreciate that reading is a great use of one’s time.
Language and literature bring readers into contact with important opinions and perspectives, whether those are political, such as in Animal Farm or Tanika Gupta’s play The Empress, or intensely personal.
Literature starts with plot and character, but we show pupils that there is also a craft behind texts that we can enjoy studying and use to understand the world around us. We look at how texts are written, the choices that writers make and how comparisons can be made between various approaches.
We believe that texts should not just be read on a page; the ‘performance text’ is a crucial part of what we do. We are keen for pupils to learn about texts through creative exploration, and teachers balance close textual analysis with a variety of imaginative tasks designed to enhance enjoyment and understanding. Shakespeare is studied in the Lower School, at GCSE, and in the Sixth Form.
Our priorities include enabling our boys to become excellent communicators of the spoken word. English lessons are based on the essentiality of discussing and debating issues at every opportunity. That aim extends to all pupils: we help those who do not necessarily see themselves as the wit or entertainer in a group to find their level, to become more confident and to communicate verbally in a way that suits them. English therefore includes opportunities for drama, as well as formal and informal debating.
Alongside co-curricular drama, there are a host of societies connected to The Queen’s Library – many run by our team of pupil librarians – as well as a Scrabble club and varied opportunities to debate and discuss.
