English
From the moment children join the school we are encouraging a very high standard in English. We want children to develop a love of books and to read fluently from a wide variety of texts for pleasure and enlightenment as well as to respond to a broad range of literature and poetry. We want pupils to understand and use appropriate language when writing for specific purposes and to develop neat and legible handwriting. We want them to develop an interest in words and their meanings and encourage an ever growing vocabulary. We teach them how to speak confidently with intonation, clear diction, accurate grammar and appropriate style. Finally we want our children to develop lively and enquiring minds, by equipping them with the ability to question and argue rationally.
Children at The Mall love reading and from Year 1 enjoy using their school reading record to record the reading they do at home and at school. The school uses Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reader programme to encourage the children to read and take quizzes to monitor their reading understanding. Pupils at The Mall get Headmaster Commendations to celebrate reaching reading 1 million words and praise in assemblies for reaching reading milestones. The pupils read for fun and enjoy the challenges of reading quizzes.
We run regular competitions for creative writing, film making, reviews and poetry throughout the year. We have won accolades and prizes for the past two years at The Chiswick Book Festival for Young People’s Poetry and are previous winners of the ‘Story to Screen’ section at the Barnes Film Festival.
