English Faculty
Photo: Members of the cast of the 2009 Lower School Production, The Wizard of Oz
Drama
Drama is introduced in English lessons from Year 7, its main aims being to encourage confidence, creativity and self-expression. In Years 7 to 9, Drama is an integrated part of the English course. One in six English Lessons in Key Stage 3 becomes a “designated” drama period. Often Drama is used to explore texts encountered elsewhere in the English Curriculum. At the end of Year 7 all students rehearse and take part in a Drama Festival organized around a topical theme and performed before a public audience.
At Key Stage 4 Drama is a popular subject option taken to GCSE level. Similarly Drama and Theatre Studies is a popular A Level choice for those with a particular interest in the theatre. Sixth Form students perform scripted and devised pieces before a public audience in preparation for their examination assessment.
English
The aims of the English Department at St Edward’s are simple:
- To develop all pupils' abilities to communicate clearly, effectively and with increasing sophistication, in both spoken and written English, and in a variety of styles and tones appropriate to different contexts.
- To broaden the pupils' enjoyment of the rich experience that Language and Literature offer them, both by the study of all forms of Literature and by the encouragement of their personal response, critical faculties, and their own creative use of language.
- In teaching methods and content, we seek to maintain a balance between the best of traditional and more recent approaches, always aiming to maintain high standards and to involve the pupils in the most positive manner.
A mixture of "classic" and time-honoured prose, poetry and drama, and good contemporary Literature is used. In recent years, the Department has taken the opportunity to review and replace, where necessary, the English reading stock. The aim of this exercise has been to introduce texts from a broader literary canon, in particular, texts from other cultures and texts written by women.
Film Studies
A Level Film Studies is an excitingly different addition to the roster of qualifications on offer to Upper School pupils at the College. A long-established A Level which combines academic study, independent research and practical applications, Film Studies has, in recent years, seen its popularity soar in Sixth Forms across the country.
At St Edward’s, pupils are attracted by the clear focus on academic rigour as well as the opportunities afforded for the pursuit of candidates’ own particular interests in aspects of film and filmmaking.
An outstanding strength of the course is the way in which it builds on pupils’ own experiences of film, with continuous emphasis on the broadening of horizons and deepening of understanding. Pupils are very much encouraged to explore film in all its forms, to question and to evaluate the films they watch and to analyse critically the industry that produces them.
An integral part of the A Level is coursework, where candidates have the chance to write and produce short films of their own. At St Edward’s, this aspect of Film Studies has been enthusiastically embraced by our pupils, and recent submissions have generated interest and acclaim from peers as well as gratifyingly positive comments from the examiners.
The subject is well resourced, and pupils are strongly encouraged to complement their studies with visits to local arthouse and mainstream cinemas. Links with local universities with film departments have also been set up.