The English Department strives to develop articulate, thoughtful, and empathetic pupils through a rich and rigorous curriculum. We empower our pupils with the essential skills of reading, writing, and oracy, enabling them to express themselves confidently and think critically. By engaging with a diverse range of historical and contemporary texts that explore challenging and emotive themes, we inspire students to connect with the world around them and prepare them for academic success and meaningful futures.
Pre-Prep
In Ballard Pre-Prep, we continue to embrace English as a key part of everything we do. We continue to encourage our children to write using an array of equipment and techniques.
We introduce composition by asking them to write down what they did at the weekend and to illustrate it – mimicking the picture books they love to read. We introduce spelling and grammar alongside correct letter formation and, as they develop, more complicated English concepts such as poetry and onomatopoeia.
Pre-Prep have also had a huge focus on reading with much success! At Ballard we believe that reading and sharing stories at home, and developing a love of literature is of real importance. We are so lucky to have our own library and each class enjoys weekly library lessons with one of our two librarians.
At Ballard we celebrate World Book Day in style! Pupils and staff love dressing up with pupils walking down the catwalk in character, talking to the judges about their character, costume and book! We also have fun workshops with our visiting author.
Lower Prep
In Lower Prep, our English curriculum is designed to foster a lifelong love of reading and writing.
Each unit is centered around a carefully chosen key text that not only inspires rich book talk and imaginative writing but also links directly to the Humanities topic being studied, creating a fully immersive learning experience.
Pupils explore a wide range of writing genres, both fiction and non-fiction, including fairy tales, diary entries, newspaper articles, and non-chronological reports, all rooted in the themes and ideas of the key text.
To further support reading development, pupils enjoy a dedicated weekly library lesson where the Accelerated Reader scheme helps monitor their reading progress, recommend suitable books, and assess comprehension. This integrated approach ensures that pupils are engaged, supported, and challenged as they develop their literacy skills.
Upper Prep
In these crucial years, Ballard’s English department focus on continuity and progress, creativity and enjoyment, whilst introducing the skills needed for IGCSE. Drama activities and trips are integrated into the curriculum.
Reading for pleasure is encouraged through allocated reading time and participation in Read for My School and World Book Day.
Pupils participate in ESB (English Speaking Board) exams to gain confidence in public speaking, gaining incredible results. Topics are wide-ranging and classrooms could be laden with scuba diving kit, models and much loved pets. An unprecedented number of Distinctions were awarded and Ballard was again complimented on the excellent preparation of the pupils and the imaginative presentations delivered.
Year 6 completed a delicious cross-curricular project combining DT, Food Tech and English as they created their own chocolate, designed the packaging and advertised the finished product. Chocolate definitely has a way of bringing departments together!
Our Year 7 have had a very creative year as they discovered more about their literary heritage. The year started with an introduction to Gothic Horror and offered huge potential for language development and they had a fantastic visit to Harry Potter World to complement the genre perfectly.
A recent project on Shakespeare produced an incredibly high standard of work and creative ideas; pupils baked for Shakespeare, dressed in period costume, made board games and models of The Globe Theatre as well as researching biographical and contextual detail.
Pupils loved the Canterbury Tales and embraced the art of storytelling with real enthusiasm, culminating in stories told round the camp fire in Ballard’s woods.
It is usual for Year 8 to enter the BBC 500 Words competition honing their precision of language skills and meeting the strict word limit. They also take part in our very own ‘Dragons’ Den’ and their professional approach to product development and creative marketing is outstanding.
Senior
In the Senior School at Ballard all pupils study English Language and Literature and every opportunity is taken to enhance pupils’ learning with visiting speakers and theatre visits. Excellent exam results are a result of hard work expected of pupils in conjunction with the support of well-qualified, experienced, specialist staff.
Pupils are encouraged to be independent learners through a variety of activities including our Year 9 Ballard Challenge Week, where they have to research and present their project to external judges. They also have the opportunity to visit the Battlefields on a cross-curricular trip that offers real insight into the conflict poetry they will be studying at GCSE.
We have run our own Carnegie reading challenge and decided which of the national finalists we thought should win; interestingly, our results didn’t match but it created great debate and discussion, and for some, it renewed an enthusiasm for reading and introduced new genres and authors.
Year 10 made a trip to the Imperial War Museum to complement their study of conflict poetry and produced some very strong creative writing coursework as a result. They have worked hard on the new syllabus and we are delighted that the whole year group has either met or exceeded their rigorous target grades.
