The English department makes contact with every student on roll and the subject is a petri dish into which myths, countries, deities, cultures, accents, politics, dictators and far-flung scientific dreams blend. We have the privilege of being able to engage a child’s imagination via the careful selection of a text and should then be using that engagement to impart and hone skills that a child will need as they transition to exam point, further education and employment. The English team at Stuart Bathurst will be shaped around the core principles of English Language at Key Stage Three so that students can master, secure and develop skills necessary for GCSE attainment and pivotal to their development as a thoughtful, analytical and literate reader, writer and communicator. Key Stage Four will introduce students to the literary texts selected for their GCSE Literature examination and repeat and interleave Language processes to maintain and secure progress and potential toward and beyond examination. At Key Stage Five, students will read a breadth of texts that are diverse in genre, content and style to explore how fiction presents the culture and politics of its time and core values of our society.