ENGLISH
Literature and Language
Books, films, songs and poetry help us to find a voice to tell our stories; a voice that can be creative, critical and inspirational. We want all our students to extend their imagination through language and literature from a diverse range of cultures, and become sophisticated speakers and writers. English connects our students to a wealth of ideas through a range of cultural literature that challenges them to think about their own sense of identity, their relationships with others and their place in society. Students are given tools to unlock skills that enable them to successfully participate in the social, cultural, and political life of
New Zealand and the wider world.
Enrichment Opportunities:
Debating, speech and spoken word competitions, writing competitions, theatre trips, talks and workshops from visiting authors and poets.
Juniors
Our curriculum in the junior school is driven by rich questions. Students have the opportunity to explore writers’ and filmmakers’ complex ideas around concepts including but not limited to identity, change, sustainability and social justice, and to develop the skills to express their ideas in their speech and their writing. Our students are exposed to a wide range of New Zealand texts to give them a critical understanding of Māori, Pasifika and Pākehā cultures and allow them to discover their place in our society.
Seniors
Our senior curriculum develops the critical thinking and evaluation students need to be successful at NCEA, through exposure to rich texts, and allowing individual students to discover and explore their own ideas and writing styles. We want students to enjoy taking English to Year 13 and aim high to achieve university entrance, endorsements and scholarships. We create pathways for all students to gain the literacy credits they need to achieve their full potential in their future choices.