Literary Canon
As a school, we have always been passionate about books and remain fully committed to improving the reading of all of our students while they are with us. Students study a vast array of texts that explore different cultures and philosophies to ignite their love for the wonderful world of Literature.
We are excited to delve into classic texts which have remained on the curriculum for years, while also exploring new texts that underpin our school values, helping to shape our students into interesting, free-thinking and empathetic young people throughout their educational journey.
 | Year 7 Lord of the Flies – After their plane is shot down, a group of boys are marooned on an island. With no adults to guide them, each of the boys must choose between the opposing forces of order and chaos,led by the brutal Jack, who establishes a fort at Castle Rock, the boys form a tribe to hunt pigs. |
 | Year 7 A Monster Calls – A fantasy story set in present-day Britain about a 13-year-old boy called Conor whose mother has a serious illness. Conor is visited by a monster who tells him three stories. These stories help Conor to understand the complicated feelings he has about his mother’s death. |
 | Year 7 Much ado About Nothing – Count Claudio falls in love with Hero, the daughter of his host. Hero’s cousin Beatrice (a confirmed spinster) and Benedict (an eternal bachelor) are each duped into believing the other is in love with them. Claudio is deceived by a malicious plot and denounces Hero as unchaste before they marry. Will they ever find happiness together? |
 | Year 8 Detective Fiction – The Adventure of the Speckled Band – In “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are visited by Helen Stoner, a young woman who is suspicious of the circumstances of her sister Julia’s death, and believes herself to also be in danger. |
 | Year 8 A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Four Athenians run away to the forest only to have Puck the fairy make both of the boys fall in love with the same girl. The four run through the forest pursuing each other while Puck helps his master play a trick on the fairy queen. Will they ever find their true love in this magical tale of mistaken identity? |
 | Year 9 Animal Farm – This allegorical book depicts a group of animals who rebel against humans and become their own masters. Things work smoothly at first, and the animals revel in their freedom and have equality. However, the pigs become power-hungry and become the new oppressors of the animals and become indistinguishable from humans. |
 | Year 9 Hamlet – The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet’s uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet. Will Hamlet ever be king? Or will his feelings of vengeance overtake him? |
 | Year 9 The Crucible – The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a fictional play based on the Salem witch trials which took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It tells the story of a village that becomes embroiled in a witch hunt. The people of Salem live in a constant state of fear as more and more people are accused of witchcraft. Are the witches to fear? Or those who will hang them? |
 | Year 9 Frankenstein – Frankenstein tells the story of gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein who succeeds in giving life to a being of his own creation. However, this is not the perfect specimen he imagines that it will be, but rather a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and mankind in general. |
 | Year 10 A Christmas Carol – A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man. |
 | Year 10 An Inspector Calls – An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley, is a play that revolves around the apparent suicide of a young woman called Eva Smith. In the play, the unsuspecting Birling family are visited by the mysterious Inspector Goole. He interrogates each member of the family to find out who is responsible for this innocent girl’s death. |
 | Year 11 Love and Relationships Poetry Anthology – A beautiful collection of poems discussing themes linked to parental love, intimacy, grief, loss and many more. This anthology is a true depiction of poetry across time that centres specifically on key relationships. Students will study all 15 poems and explore the relationships in each. |
 | Year 11 Macbeth – When visited by three witches, Macbeth, a nobleman, plots to kill the king. He is encouraged and persuaded by his wife to commit this unspeakable act, but once he gains the power he seeks, he begins to realise that there is more to life than power, as his followers betray him and a trail of death follows him wherever he goes. |
