English

English at WSC is compulsory from years 9-12. All classes have four hours a week.

Junior English
The English programme in the junior school is organised around four thematic modules, one per term, which allow students to improve their skills in reading, writing, speaking and viewing. The classes are in mixed ability groupings and the work within the modules is ‘differentiated’ to take account of the various skill levels within the class. In Year 9 there are 10 assessments during the year, on such things as Personal reading, Creative Writing, Speech etc, and at Year 10, Research is also included.  The students will be awarded Not Achieved, Nearly Achieved, Achieved, Merit or Excellence for each assignment and the results reported to parents at the end of the year.

NCEA Level 1
Two courses are offered at Level 1, one with 22 credits and one with 21. The first has three externally assessed Achievement Standards and the second has two, which caters for students who prefer to gain their credits through internal assessment.  The courses have a similar structure and assess the students’ ability in a range of skills, including:

• Writing response to text essays
• Speaking
• Formal writing
• Understanding unfamiliar texts
• Reading, and responding to, a range of texts on a theme

NCEA Level 2
At level 2, there are two English courses. Both have 2 externally assessed standards but one focuses more on the study of literature while the other has more of a thematic focus. Both courses lead on to year 13 English. The literature course offers:

• Formal and Creative writing
• Novel or Short Text Study
• Film Study
• Seminar
• Theme Study

The thematic course is similar, except there is no creative writing, and the formal writing is tested using a Unit Standard.

NCEA Level 3
At Level 3 in 2011 there are two English courses.  Both courses enable students to gain University Entrance credits in English. The literature course includes 4 externally assessed Achievement Standards and is worth 24 credits overall.  It involves:

• Extended Writing
• Novel Study
• Film Study
• Shakespeare study
• Close Reading of Text
• Seminar
• Research

 Students wanting to do Scholarship English should take this course.

The thematic course offers 2 externally assessed Achievement Standards and 3 internally assessed Unit or Achievement Standards. It is worth 20 credits overall and involves:

• Extended Writing
• Non Fiction Study
• Film Study
• Seminar
• Theme Study

Rumaki English courses are structured in a similar way to those in the mainstream, but the topics and resources have a Kaupapa Maori base.