The Rubicon Centre, English Department

At the Rubicon Centre we believe that English forms the basis for our students to become confident and enthusiastic learners. We have created a curriculum for both KS3 and KS4 which is engaging and varied but at the same time is ambitious in its expectations and content. We integrate the key skills of reading, writing and speaking and listening into each scheme of learning and introduce the students to a wide variety of texts in each key stage.

Our Key Stage 3 curriculum revisits many key skills, building on them and progressing towards GCSE. Students will practice skills involving punctuation, spelling and grammar as well as inference and interpretation. The schemes of learning are designed to support students’ current learning in their mainstream school for part-time students as well as ensure progress is made for long-term placements.

 Our Key Stage 4 Curriculum offers students a chance to study a range of 19th, 20th and 21st century texts in preparation for GCSE English Language. As part of the curriculum students will produce creative and descriptive texts as well as studying a range of non-fiction texts. Speaking and listening skills play a major role across the curriculum. Pupils are encouraged to offer their views and opinions and present their views formally in preparation for the spoken language endorsement as part of the English Language GCSE.

As a department we want every child to succeed and therefore monitor the progress of our pupils closely.  Reading interventions have proved a huge success with pupils who make rapid improvements with their reading ability. An aim for the school is to encourage all pupils to enjoy and have confidence to read a wide range of texts.

Careers Education in English

The English curriculum for both KS3 and KS4 addresses Careers education throughout its delivery. The introduction of a variety of careers takes place during KS3 with topics such as Travel Writing and Dystopian Fiction. It continues into KS4 with the Non-Fiction unit and explorations into Journalism.

There is a detailed learning wall in the English Classroom which features a variety of careers that can be considered for students of English. This contains detailed such as the qualifications pathway, expected salary and experience that may be needed.

Digital Library
 

The Rubicon Centre is committed to providing students with unique learning opportunities, which is why we are pleased to introduce ePlatform, a digital library for students that provides free access to Audiobooks.

The benefits of ePlatform:

With ePlatform, students have 24/7 access to Audiobooks for free. This is a wonderful extension of our physical school library and allows titles to be checked out at home, over the weekend or during school breaks without worrying about losing or accruing late fees because they automatically return at the end of the loan period. Students of all ages can benefit from ePlatform's reading and comprehension tools.  A service like this can benefit struggling or reluctant readers, learning-challenged students, second-language learners as well as gifted readers alike.

• Unique reader customisation with Settings wizard, across all devices

• Introduce students to books above their reading level

• Help busy kids find time to read

• Professionally curated collection with age restrictions set by school staff

• Increase vocabulary and improve pronunciation and comprehension 

• User friendly for all types of readers & listeners (e.g. reluctant, dyslexic)

How does it work? 

Ensure your reader has the ePlatform app which can be downloaded for free from the Apple Store, Google Play Store or visit ePlatform: eBooks and Audiobooks in School Libraries to begin. Students have their own unique login to access the platform. Please contact us directly should your reader have any trouble logging in.