English

At Dusit, we pride ourselves on a tailored English curriculum that identifies individual needs and abilities. While fostering a love for creative writing and reading amongst our students, our teachers seek to provide rigor and pupil independence.

Here at Dusit we understand that spoken language underpins the development of reading and writing and so it takes centre stage across all parts of our learning. Teachers make speaking and listening a priority in all subjects so pupils develop the skills to have a confident voice. Through guided practice, shared vocabulary and regular practice, pupils learn to structure their ideas and present them clearly using spoken English.

Our aim is to open pupils’ minds to a world enriched by literature. Through focused lessons, pupils are guided to explore a range of texts from the contemporary to traditional, from poetry to non-fiction and they are encouraged to engage texts with curiosity and wonder.

Through dedicated reading lessons, pupils are guided through challenging texts. All classes engage in structured conversations around these texts, helping pupils to collaboratively explore and respond to a text. During these classes, pupils are also taught key skills that allow them to unlock texts for themselves and are given opportunities to practice these skills independently.

Our spacious and well-stocked library sits at the heart of the campus, ensuring all our pupils know that reading is at the heart of everything we do and is an integral part of our daily lives. Pupils have access to this space during their weekly library sessions which are devoted to exploring a love of reading.

We truly believe that writing is one of the most powerful ways pupils can express their thoughts, ideas and creativity and so it takes centre stage in our curriculum. We also passionately believe that pupils can learn so much from great authors and so every writing unit here at Dusit is built around an engaging novel. Pupils use this text as a springboard for their imagination and have opportunities to create and innovate around this text.

Every year, pupils have the opportunity to write a wide variety of text types from report writing to play scripts. In each writing unit, pupils develop an understanding of the audience and purpose of the text type and think carefully about how they can use language features to fulfill their aim.

We also know that no-one gets it right the first time and so encourage a growth mindset through regular editing lessons. By reflecting collaboratively and sharing their written work with others, pupils gain a better insight of how they can improve and grow as writers.

A confident understanding of how English language is structured helps pupils to communicate their ideas with clarity and nuance. Because we believe this so strongly, grammar and punctuation is weaved into every writing lesson at Dusit. Teachers make use of examples drawn from text their classes are studying to make this learning relevant and engaging.