Welcome to English

Welcome to the English Department at The British International School, Abu Dhabi. We pride ourselves on delivering an engaging and enriching curriculum that fosters a love of language and literature in your child. Our primary aim is to empower students with strong communication skills, enabling them to articulate their thoughts effectively and express themselves with clarity and confidence. Alongside this, we focus heavily on developing key reading and writing skills throughout all of our units. These are further developed with library lessons, and the embedding of literacy skills within lessons each week. English is, by nature, a skills-based curriculum where we focus on developing these core skills over time; skills that will ultimately help students be successful in English and other subjects in school.

In addition, we also believe in the transformative power of literature to broaden horizons, encourage empathy, and inspire critical thinking. Our lessons are designed to develop a deep appreciation for diverse cultures and perspectives through the study of various literary works. This will help to develop a lifelong love of reading in our students, and we actively encourage everyone in our community to read as often as possible. Ultimately, our department is guided by the belief that a strong foundation in English is essential for future success in all aspects of life.

Our current learning

In the first half term, students will continue to study the 16 poems from the Edexcel Anthology which will enable students to prepare for Section B of the English Literature iGCSE exam paper. Students will be required to write an essay style response to a question in which they will need to compare two poems based on a given theme. In this essay, students will need to show a detailed and balanced understanding of both poems, as well as a detailed exploration of the linguistic and structural methods in each poem. Students will be given a clean copy of the poems in the exams, so students should continue to revise and prepare with the annotations they have made in class. Students will also continue to re-draft and submit their final pieces of coursework this term as well as revise any other content with their English teachers that will best prepare them for their summer examinations.  

Curriculum Overview

New Starters

All new starters, and all of our students, are required to have the following.

1. A device as per 'Bring Your Own Device' school policy. This will be used for a variety of literary research activities.
2. A reading book - students are expected to carry their own reading book with them at all times.
3. An active imagination and creative mindsight.
4. A positive and enthusiastic attitude to all English lessons

Resources List

Recommended reading and core textbooks required for this subject.

These are the most common websites that can support learning in English:

Software List

You will need to make sure the following software is installed on your device as it will be used within this subject.

Ensure you have all the necessary Office 365 apps downloaded.

• Microsoft Word
• Powerpoint
• Teams
• Onenote
• Outlook

Meet the Team