The study of English at Upton House School aims to inculcate a love of reading, writing, speaking and listening, providing our pupils with the foundation skills and knowledge to support them to be successful throughout their life. In their time at Upton, children develop an appreciation for the literary heritage of world cultures in forms of literature, prose, poetry and drama, through the process of responsive reading, listening and enactment.
We teach that reading is for pleasure allows us to gain access to knowledge and understanding. Nurturing a love of reading from a young age is key to improving literacy skills. At Upton House School, we believe in the power of reading and its ability to open up doors to knowledge and worlds beyond the every day. We have two libraries and work with our school librarian to make our reading environments comfortable and inspiring. Children read with an adult during morning Form Time and their English lessons. In Pre-Prep and Prep, each year has a class reader which they read and analyse deeply together. Upton House School also organises annual events such as author visits and podcast interviews, Book Week, local competitions and persuasive speech writing to maintain the children’s interest and involvement in English language.
We teach the children about some of the great English writers, for example: William Shakespeare, J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Louis Stevenson and Roald Dahl. We teach and reinforce positive behaviour and social-emotional skills through carefully selected texts. These stories illustrate concepts which go to the heart of our school values, such as forgiveness and kindness, providing opportunities for students to explore and discuss their feelings. The English curriculum is continually adapted to forge new cross-curricular links, namely with Digital Fundamentals, History, Wellbeing and themed weeks in the school calendar.
Between 4 and 5 lessons a week are devoted to English. Differentiated teaching is embedded in lesson time, through careful questioning and extension activities, celebrating our NACE accredited status. We use “teach to the top” strategies that set high expectations, encouraging all pupils to stretch their thinking and deepen their understanding. Encouragement to read more complex material on an individual level also provides challenge for the more able. Similarly, writing and performing poetry, writing persuasive speeches for debating competitions and writing and entering creative writing competitions gives scope for the children to reach their potential.
We teach handwriting skills in our distinctive Upton cursive style, and writing as a craft, where planning, drafting and editing and revising are taught to develop writing skills for life. The pupils receive teaching in grammar and spelling, and we teach pupils to use original vocabulary, descriptive detail and figurative language. In Years 5 & 6, Atom Learning is used to support their learning.
Beyond the curriculum the children can try: Debating Club – an inclusive and expansive for Forms 5 & 6; WWG Young Writers' Competition – a local competition for creative writers; Theatre – opportunities for every year group to engage with live theatre and take part in the incredible end of year school production.
Key events which we celebrate each year include: Shakespeare Week, Book Week, the Cicero Cup Debating Competition, the District 10 Debating Competition and the ISEB Creative Writing Competition.