English at Newton Prep encourages children’s imagination and creativity, whilst giving them a strong grounding in the foundations of reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Our broad and creative curriculum brings English to life from Nursery to Year 8. The journey begins in the Lower School where there is a focus on phonics and the exploration of different genres and forms. Using the National Curriculum as our guide, we cover a variety of classic and contemporary texts, from Shakespeare and Chaucer to Morpurgo and Pullman, as well as poetry, media and non-fiction writing,
We have two libraries and work closely with our school librarians to make reading for pleasure a habit in all of our children. We have developed bespoke reading lists for each year group to encourage curiosity and diversity in the children’s reading habits.
Our brilliant Book Week is a much-loved event at Newton Prep, consisting of a school-wide dress up day and a ream of visiting authors and workshops. We also celebrate National Poetry Day and Shakespeare Day. Children are encouraged to enter national writing competitions regularly and their pieces often feature in our school magazine. Throughout the year, we host numerous professional writers who run workshops with the pupils and we visit a variety of museums and theatres. The English Department also leads the House Poetry Competition, which sees all the children participate in poetry recitation in front of distinguished, external judges.
It is our aim to instil a love of language and literature in all Newton Prep pupils.
