GB English Progress

Age 7 - 11

Each module has a specific theme to engage the student while teaching specific skills such as;

A) Form it - Handwriting formation

B) Know it - Phonics and spelling (Reinforce 44 simple & complex sounds)

C) Remember it - Sentence structure, punctuation (speech marks, commas)

D) Correct it - Correct a sentence - editing skills

E) Improve it - Using 7 ways to improve a sentence.

1. Add in words (such as adjectives)

2. Drop in chunks of information

3. Add on at the beginning

4. Add on at the end

5. Change words

6. Add a simile

7. Alliteration

F) Picture it - Using picture stimulus to craft a paragraph.

G) Create it - crafting sentences using challenging vocabulary.

H) Discuss it - introducing, reading and discussing the story.

I) Think it - Comprehension skills through discussion and scribing. Introduce the concept of explicit & implicit information.

J) Write it - Story Writing - Craft and create their own story.

K) Structure it – Identifying story structure. Key features in informational writing egs title, sub headings, openings, facts, questions, bullet points, conclusion and layout.

The themes are:

Term 1

Hair (incl writing instructions)

Birthday Surprise

Term 2

Pets (incl writing instructions)

Tower By The Seashore

Term 3

Scorbat The Spy Cat (incl poetry)

Dog’s Apology (incl letter writing)

(From time to time these themes may change)

GB English Plus

Age 8-13

Each module has a specific theme to engage the student while teaching specific skills such as;

A) Remember it - Sentence structure, punctuation egs speech marks, commas, apostrophes, colons, semi colons etc

B) Correct it - Correct a sentence - editing skills

C) Picture it - Using picture stimulus to craft a paragraph.

D) Create it - crafting sentences/paragraphs using challenging vocabulary.

E) Discuss it - introducing, reading and discussing the story.

F) Think it - Comprehension skills through discussion and scribing. Master the concept of explicit & implicit information. Use point, evidence and explain to support answers.

G) Write it - Story Writing - Craft and create their own story. Use ‘What if not’ process. Poetry writing and analysing - Onomatopoeia, Simile, Metaphor, Alliteration, Internal Rhyme, personification. Comparing & contrasting

H) Structure it – Identifying story structure. Key features in informational writing for example; title, sub headings, openings, facts, questions, bullet points, conclusion and layout.

I) Summarise it – Understand the art of summarising. Identify general ideas & detail.

J) Spell it – homophones, prefixes & suffixes

K) Report it - Headline, Columns, Introduction/Summarising paragraph, Pictures, Facts and statistics

The themes are:

Term 1

Magic & Mystery

Holiday Adventure – prefix and suffix, homophones, diary

Read All About It

Term 2

Sky Jump (incl. Persuasive writing & letter writing)

Victorian Adventure

Term 3

The Mercurial Friend

Deceit

(From time to time these themes may change)

GB English Elite

Age 9 - 15

This course is split into modules designed to introduce and consolidate the skills required to be successful in KS4 English and English Literature. Each module will engage students using interesting texts that are both fiction and Non-fiction and from across the whole historical literature canon. Skills in red will be covered but will be focused on in much more detail during the Excel course.

SKILLS

• Spell it… Revise spelling rules.

• Punctuate it… revise and refine the use of sophisticated punctuation for effect.

• Structure and chunk it...

Use varied sentence structures and accurate

paragraphs for effect.

READING

• Read it…

• Know it (Clarify it)…

expanding knowledge and vocabulary.

• Discuss it… Formulating opinions.

• Understand it… Explain, expand and summarise.

• Predict it… use textual evidence to give a best guess of what will happen next.

• Comprehend it (Identify it)...

• Annotate it...

• Question it...

• Analyse it (Engage with it)…

• Evaluate it (Critique it)…

• Compare it....

WRITING

• Create it… Plan it out, think it through.

• Draft it… Write an initial piece.

• Edit it… Add imagery, correct errors, think about synonyms,

make improvements.

• Write it... Produce a final and best version.

Themes and Texts are:

TERM 1

SPaG Skills, basic language and structure,

Comprehension- ‘Different types of text’ and ‘Pet Food.’

TERM 2

Reading and Writing Non Fiction- ‘Cats are better than Dogs‘

and ‘The Environment.’

TERM 3

Reading and writing Fiction- Gothic Horror.

GB English Excel

Age 11 - 16

This course has been designed to focus on the skills needed for exam success and progression into A-Level English and Literature. The course 

focuses honing students’ skills in critiquing, analyzing and writing with style and flair. Students’ will cover all GCSE Assessment Objectives. The students will be working with texts from across 19th, 20th & 21st Century and both 

fiction and non-fiction.

SKILLS and WRITING from the previous list (GB Elite English) will continue to be taught explicitly and with more sophistication.

READING

• Read it… 

• Know it (Clarify it)… 

• Discuss it… 

• Understand it… 

• Predict it… 

• Comprehend it (Identify it)... 

Retrieval and recall skills, using quotations accurately.

• Annotate it... Make logical observation and notes about any given 

text.

• Question it... Metacognition: think about the bigger picture, the 

social and philosophical questions, the deeper, more 

hidden meanings.

• Analyse it (Engage with it)… 

Comment on both the literally meaning of the words, 

the imagery created by them and the effect on the 

reader.

• Evaluate it (Critique it)… 

Comment on how successful and effective texts are 

and why you feel this way.

• Compare it... Commenting on the similarity and differences between 

texts and the effects of these.

Themes and Texts are:

TERM 1

Reading and Writing non fiction- ‘The Trouble with 

Harry’ and ‘Asbo Teens to Beauty queens!’

TERM 2

Advanced SPaG and Reading, Retrieval and Revision- 

‘Unsolved Mysteries’

TERM 3

Reading and Writing fiction- ‘Creepy goings on…’ 

Extracts from across the ages.

GB English Exam Preparation

Including Entrance Exams, CAT, GCSE & A Level

Students are given a separate note book to develop a bespoke set of notes on the topics they find tricky.

These tricky topics are identified as the student works through sets of past papers at the appropriate level for their age and tier of entry at GCSE.

When the students collect their paper, they also get a copy of the mark scheme. The students are then expected to complete between 4 and 5 questions and then mark them to ensure they are collecting all the marks available. This process allows the students to practice the topics they know well and ensures they get all the marks they should and also enables the trickier topics to be identified.

As soon as a tricky topic is identified, the tutor will go through that item ensuring notes are taken as to how to get to the correct answer in the most efficient way possible. The student builds up a set of notes that is bespoke to their needs and when they come across the tricky topic on a different past paper, they will either get it right first time, or they can refer to their notes, or they can ask again for some help from the tutor. It doesn’t matter how many times we are asked to go over topics, the essential thing is that the student learns how to be successful.

Exam technique is also discussed as sometimes marks are lost by not approaching the exam in a logical manner...