Subjects

English

The Ryleys has an extremely impressive record of achievement in English. We take pride in helping our pupils to success in the 11+ and then 13+, Common Entrance and scholarship exams.

Our aim is to help all pupils achieve their potential and we seek to challenge every girl and boy.  The curriculum is designed for those of all abilities but we are determined that children who need an academic, dynamic and exciting course should receive the opportunity.

We believe strongly in teaching the fundamentals of handwriting, spelling and grammar.  We rigorously teach comprehension skills and we ensure that children are familiar with the type of reasoning problems that secondary schools often use for selection purposes.  We carefully monitor children's progress and keep parents informed of it.

At the same time we believe in English as an art, a craft and as a communication tool.  We actively teach creative writing and poetry techniques.  We want our pupils to stand out for their originality and imagination.  We have well stocked libraries full of carefully chosen books and we want our children to have a buzz about reading.  We believe in the power of the spoken word and we encourage articulate speaking in both formal and informal situations.  We have an expectation that children will listen and in return we listen to them.

We also seek to install a love of literature. A Ryleys pupil may well have read plays by Shakespeare or poems by Wilfred Owen or silly verse by Lewis Carroll.  However, what we most hope for is that they will tell you how much they have enjoyed them.

We take pupils to live theatre because we want them captivated by the dramatic experience. We put on plays and musicals because we want to see the confidence it builds and the talent it finds.  We use drama in the curriculum for a hundred reasons, with the first on the list being that it's fun!  Most of all we know that what we do is vitally important not just in education but in life and we are proud of our pupils achievements.