The English faculty at St Clare’s uses different textual forms and mediums of production to promote communication skills. This is achieved in our classrooms and through extra-curricular and cross-curricular activities.

English classes are either graded or banded in Years 7-10. Students are surrounded in the learning space by others with similar abilities and can therefore work at a steady pace instead of being held back, left behind, or pushed ahead before they are ready. Lessons and programs are targeted to suit the academic level of our students. Life Skills English is offered in Years 8-12.

English is a compulsory subject and in the senior school students have the choice of studying Advanced English, Standard English, English Studies, Extension 1 and Extension 2 English.

At St Clare’s, the study of English supports the Catholic ethos of the school. Programs reflect a development and expression of personal values based on students’ own understanding of moral, ethical, and spiritual matters.

The study of English should be challenging and enjoyable for all students.

They are taught to become active, independent learners who can work and reflect with each other. Students are also encouraged to reflect on their own learning and to put their learning into practice through extra-curricular activities such as debating and public speaking.

We understand that language learning is recursive and develops through ever-widening contexts. Students learn appropriate English skills through the explicit teaching of language and through their immersion in a diverse range of meaningful and challenging language experiences.

In Stages 4 and 5 students will study:

  • spoken text
  • print texts
  • visual texts
  • media, multimedia, and digital texts

Each stage includes:

  • texts widely regarded as literature
  • Australian texts that give insights into Aboriginal experiences
  • texts from other countries and times
  • literature from other countries and from other times
  • texts written about intercultural experiences
  • texts that provide insights about the people and cultures of Asia
  • texts that include aspects of environmental and social sustainability
  • a wide range of cultural, social and gender perspectives, popular cultures, and youth cultures
  • picture books, nonfiction texts and graphic novels
  • everyday and workplace texts
  • an appropriate range of digital texts, including film, media, and multimedia.

The faculty consists of a diverse group of strong teachers and good planners dedicated to the subject area and willing to share their expertise with each other. All teachers have a sound knowledge of the 7-10 syllabus as well as a specialised knowledge of the Stage 6 syllabus.