Head Teacher is Mr B Atkinson
The study of English involves learning, thinking and writing critically and imaginatively. English thus provides the foundation for a dynamic and enriching engagement with the community.
Knowledge, Understanding and Skills
Through responding to and composing a wide range of texts and through the close study of texts, students will develop knowledge, understanding and skills in order to:
- communicate through speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing and representing
- use language to shape and make meaning according to purpose, audience and context
- think in ways that are imaginative, creative, interpretive and critical
- express themselves and their relationships with others and their world
- learn and reflect on their learning through their study of English.
Values and Attitudes
Students will value and appreciate:
- the importance of the English language as a key to learning
- the personal enrichment to be gained from a love of English, literature and learning
- the power of language to explore and express views of themselves as well as the social, cultural, ethical, moral, spiritual and aesthetic dimensions of human experiences
- the power of effective communication using the language modes of speaking, listening, reading, writing, viewing and representing
- the role of language in developing positive interaction and cooperation with others
- the diversity and aesthetics of language through literary and other texts
- the independence gained from thinking imaginatively, creatively, interpretively and critically.
The English Faculty at Sefton High School is committed to quality literacy programs which provide our students with the opportunities to develop a deep understanding of literature, enabling them to become active, independent and lifelong learners.
Courses in English
Years 7 and 10 English
The Sefton High School English faculty offers a stimulating range of modules in Years 7 – 10 to hone students’ skills for the HSC English course. The modules extend their skills in understanding the relationships between language and meaning.
Students are expected to respond to and compose a wide variety of texts in context and through close study of texts. Teachers encourage students to develop a deep knowledge and a deep understanding of the meaning created in texts.
Students study at least one work of each of fiction, non-fiction, film, drama (including Shakespeare) and a range of poems. Students experience Australian literature and texts that give insight into Aboriginal and multicultural experiences. They also study literature from other countries and times, popular and youth culture, picture books, and everyday and work place texts as well as a range of social, gender and cultural perspectives. They engage with types of texts and become conversant with the metalanguage required to discuss these texts. They immerse themselves in reading and writing, demonstrating this in part by the competitions and other events in which they participate.
Students are required to read widely throughout their English courses. Through reading students learn spelling, grammar and punctuation automatically and the sophistication of writing is developed. Reading opens up new worlds and experiences and is fun.
English Excursions
Students usually attend a dramatic production or workshop.
English Assessment for Years 7 to 10
Students are assessed both formatively and summatively.
English Competitions for Years 7 to 10
Students have the opportunity to enter a number of competitions including the Whitlam Institute’s What Matters? competition.
Years 11 and 12 English
Selection for English Standard, English Advanced, English Extension 1 and English Extension 2 is based on the student’s performance in Year 10 in both summative and formative assessment tasks.
English Extension 2
This course involves the composition of a Major Work and is only offered to the most talented English students.
English Extension 1
This is offered only to students who display a high analytical ability and are able to write in a sustained and sophisticated manner.
In Year 11, students are required to examine a key text from the past and its manifestations in one or more popular cultures. Students also explore, analyse and critically evaluate different examples of such appropriations in a range of contexts and media.
In Year 12, students study the module ‘Ways of Thinking’ and focus on the elective ‘After the Bomb’.
Advanced English
This is only offered to students who write in a sustained, sophisticated and highly analytical manner. Entry to the course is determined in Year 10. The course has two sections
- An Area of Study common to the Standard and Advanced course
- Modules in which the students explore, examine and analyse texts and analyse aspects shaping meaning and the ways in which texts and contexts are shaped by different attitudes and values. The modules comprise
- Comparative Study of Texts and Contexts
- Critical Study of a Text
- Representation and Text.
Standard English
The course has two sections
- An Area of Study common to the Standard and Advanced courses.
- Modules in which the students explore, examine and analyse texts and analyse aspects shaping meaning and the ways in which texts and contexts are shaped by different attitudes and values. The modules comprise
- Experience through Language
- Close Study of Texts.
- Texts and Society.
English Excursions in Years 11 and 12
Students attend a dramatic production.
English Competitions for Years 11 and 12
Students have the opportunity to enter a number of competitions, including the Whitlam Institute’s What Matters? competition.
Drama
Drama Years 9 and 10
Drama is offered as an elective.
The aim of Drama is to engage and challenge students to maximise their dramatic abilities and enjoyment of drama and theatre through making, performing and appreciating dramatic and theatrical works.
Students will develop knowledge, understanding and skills, individually and collaboratively through
- making drama that explores a range of imagined and created situations in a collaborative drama and theatre environment.
- performing devised and scripted drama using a variety of performance techniques, dramatic forms and theatrical conventions to engage an audience.
- appreciating the meaning and function of drama and theatre in reflecting the personal, social, cultural, aesthetic and political aspects of the human experience.