Structure of English Classes in Year 7

This is to inform you of how our English classes will be structured next year in Year 7.

Your son/daughter will be in one of eight English classes next year.  Six of these classes will be mixed ability and the units studied and the pace of delivery in each class will be similar. Each class will be taught by an English specialist.

Two of our English classes will be slightly smaller and will be taught by two teachers: an English specialist teacher and a Learning Support teacher. These two classes have been put in place to support those students who find aspects of literacy particularly challenging.  Students will be placed in one of these smaller classes based on recommendations from their Junior School and, for non-ESF students, based on their admissions test in English.  The smaller classes will follow the same curriculum as the other English classes but the pace will be slightly slower; there will be more one-to-one attention given to the students due to the class size and there being two teachers in the classroom rather than one; and a wider range of strategies will be employed to help students progress.  All timetables will be shared with your son/daughter on their first day at Sha Tin College in August.

Although we do not envisage a lot of movement between classes, at times it will be possible for students to move into one of the mainstream classes if they make good progress.  Likewise, if a student in one of the mainstream classes is finding an aspect of the English curriculum challenging, there may be a possibility that he/she can move into one of the smaller classes for a particular unit.

We are confident that structuring our English classes in this way will be beneficial to all our learners and will support the wide range of abilities in next year’s Year 7 cohort. Our priority is to structure classes in a way that will enable and encourage students of all levels to develop, make good progress and fulfil their potential in English.

I have also included a link to our Recommended Reading List for Years 7 and 8 students :https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14FEtFxpq-WCy7tZZbJCG-yXSnvOf8ePckZxWucGNML4/edit#gid=0  The books on this list are books that have been recommended by present and past English teachers at Sha Tin College, by our students and by children’s authors as well as books that have won children’s awards over the last few years.  The best way to support your child’s English over the summer (and in the years to come) is to encourage him/her to read as wide a range of authors and genres as possible and to instil a love of reading in him/her which will, hopefully, continue through life.

I trust this is clear – however, if you have any questions regarding English at Sha Tin College please do not hesitate to contact me.

Many thanks and kind regards

Lindsay Tandy

Head of English Faculty