Subjects Covered

KS3 is the first 3 years of secondary education ages 11-14 which is known as Year 7, 8 & 9. KS3 builds on learning from primary school and prepares pupils for advance learning in KS4 and GCSE.


(Year 7, 8 & 9 students)
Key aspects:
  • Pupils will cover different genres such as Poetry, Prose (Novels), and Drama (Plays)
  • Historical context:
    • Studying literature from different historical periods, including pre-1914 works.
  • Author analysis:
    • Examining the writing style and techniques of various authors.
  • Critical thinking:
    • Developing skills to interpret text, analyse themes, and form personal opinions.
  • Classic literature
  • Shakespeare
  • Contemporary fiction
  • Poetry
(Year 7, 8 & 9 students)
Key aspects of a KS3 language:
  • Reading comprehension:
    • Analysing extracts from fiction or non-fiction texts, focusing on identifying main ideas, inferring meaning, and understanding author's purpose.
  • Writing skills:
    • Practicing different writing styles like narrative, descriptive, persuasive, or informative writing, with prompts tailored to the student's age and ability.
  • Grammar practice:
    • Reviewing and applying key grammatical concepts like subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, punctuation, and sentence structure.
  • Vocabulary building:
    • Learning new vocabulary related to the reading text and practicing using them in context.
  • Creative writing:
    • Engaging in imaginative writing tasks like story writing, poetry composition, or character development.
Important considerations for a KS3 language cover:
  • Differentiation:
    • Providing different levels of learning styles to challenge diverse learning abilities.
  • Clear instructions:
    • Ensuring tasks are well-explained with clear expectations for students to work independently.
  • Engaging content:
    • Selecting texts and activities that are relevant and interesting for the age group.
  • Review and feedback:
    • Incorporating opportunities for self-assessment and peer feedback to enhance learning.


KS4 is the final 2 years of compulsory secondary education aged 14-16, known as Year 10 & 11/GCSE. These qualifications prepare pupils for further education and/or employment opportunities.


(Year 10 & 11 GCSE students)
Key aspects:
  • Pupils will cover different genres such as Poetry, Prose (Novels), and Drama (Plays)
  • Historical context:
    • Studying literature from different historical periods, including pre-1914 works.
  • Author analysis:
    • Examining the writing style and techniques of various authors.
  • Critical thinking:
    • Developing skills to interpret text, analyse themes, and form personal opinions.
  • Classic literature
  • Shakespeare
  • Contemporary fiction
  • Poetry
Exam Literature Papers level 1-9
Paper 1 Shakespeare and Modern Play
Paper 2 19TH Century Novel and Poetry

KS4 (Year 10 & 11 GCSE students) will work towards one of the exam boards final compulsory exams below.
  • AQA Language paper 1 Explorations in Creative Reading and Writing
  • AQA Language paper 2 Viewpoints and perspectives

  • Edexcel Language paper 1 Fictional and Imaginative Writing
  • Edexcel Language paper 2 non-fiction Transactional Writing

  • WJEC Unit 2 Reading and Writing: Descriptive , Narration and Exposition
  • WJEC Unit 3 Reading and Writing: Argumentation, Persuasion and Instructional

Exam Language Papers level 1-9
Paper 1 (See exam board above)
Paper 2 (See exam board above)