English Specialism

INNOVATIVE LITERACY SCHEME

Our specialism in English continues to be a priority for the Academy and we started 2011 with a keen focus on improving vocabulary and challenging students to increase their reading.

As part of this, the English Department have developed an innovative rolling programme of key words and challenging vocabulary which are displayed prominently on television screens throughout the Academy. These words have been carefully selected to develop students’ spoken vocabulary and also their written responses in exams and assessments. Staff are also being asked to get involved. If the whole Academy community uses thoughtful, mature and analytical language, then students will see an increase in their performance across all subject areas.

In support of this initiative, the Learning Resources section of the website now features lots of information for parents on how they can support their children with their literacy. For more details click here.

TECHNO-LIBRARY

Following a recent audit of student requirements, there was a clear request for more use of ICT to encourage reading across the whole Academy. To meet this need, NBA has purchased three Kindle E readers and Year 11 students were the first to borrow these exciting resources to take home and read at their leisure. The students have also requested the range of books they would like downloaded, as well as a selection of key revision material, which will all be available soon.

As an extra support to students who find reading challenging, some of the downloaded novels feature a Text to Speech feature which 'reads' the text to you as you follow the words on screen. If the trial is successful, then more Kindles will be purchased and the opportunity to borrow them will be rolled out to all year groups.

LITERACY SPECIALISTS

The Academy has recently recruited students in Years 9 and 10 to become 'Literacy Specialists'. These students will participate in training to expand their own understanding of literacy and then plan and resource activities which will then be used in lessons.

Following their training, teaching staff will be able to book a Literacy Specialist to come to their lesson at an agreed time to share their expertise.