Welcome to the English Department of Islay High School Website. Within our Department there are various challenging courses offered to students that all work to build the students’ enthusiasm, motivation to learn, desire to reach high standards, self-reliance and an openness to new thinking and ideas.
From BGE in S1 and S2 to SQA course we teach an ever-evolving range of both classic and contemporary texts. We develop students’ communication skills through reading, writing, talking and listening.
We foster a visible reading culture and encourage personal reading of both fiction and non-fiction texts. Independent reading for pleasure has long been associated with increased literacy attainment, wider vocabulary and knowledge.
Every career using key literacy skills including reading, writing, talking and listening and these are the four elements which make up every one of our English courses. Careers often associated with English are: Journalism, Teaching, Law, Writing, Editing, etc.
S1 and S2 students will study a range of novels, short stories, poetry, drama and media. They will write in a variety of genre including personal, creative, persuasive and critical and will build their reading skills with RUAE. Talking and listening are essential life skills and are used daily in the classroom, with assessment taking place of solo talk and group discussion. Examples of texts studied are: Hatchet, A Case of Murder, Shrek, The Hunger Games, Shakespeare’s plays, Jurassic Park.
Primarily taken by students in S3 or S4 and comprises 3 units: Creation and Production (Writing and Talking), Analysis and Evaluation (Listening and Reading) and Added Value Unit (independent study of two texts). The course is assessed on a pass/fail basis, with evidence collected throughout the year and no final exam. Examples of texts studied at N4 are: Seumas Heaney poetry, Of Mice and Men, Frankenstein, Jaws, Touching the Void.
Primarily taken by students in S3 or S4 and is the level above National 4. It involves a final exam and is graded from A-D by the SQA. Examples of texts studied are: Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, On the Sidewalk Bleeding, Bold Girls, Sailmaker, Psycho, Carol Ann Duffy poetry, MacCaig poetry.
Exam Paper 1 – R.U.A.E. 30% of mark
Exam Paper 2 – Critical Reading 40% of mark
Portfolio of Writing – Creative or Discursive 30%
Spoken Language Unit – Pass or Fail
Higher is taken by students in S5 or S6 who have an A-C pass at National 5. It involves a final exam and is graded from A-D by the SQA. Examples of texts studied are: The Crucible, The Color Purple, The Cone Gatherers, A Streetcar Named Desire, MacCaig poetry, Shakespeare’s plays/sonnets.
Exam Paper 1 – R.U.A.E. 30% of mark
Exam Paper 2 – Critical Reading 40% of mark
Portfolio of Writing – Creative or Discursive 30%
Spoken Language Unit – Pass or Fail
Advanced Higher is offered to pupils in S6 who have an A-C pass at Higher. The course is largely independent study, with only two periods a week of teaching time. Examples of texts studied at Advanced Higher are: Jane Austen’s novels, Dickens’ novels, Shakespeare’s plays, Carol Ann Duffy poetry, Gothic literature.
Exam Paper 1 – Literary Study 20% of mark
Exam Paper 2 – Textual Analysis 20% of mark
Portfolio of writing (to be submitted May) 30% of mark
Dissertation (to be submitted April) 30% of mark