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| Day | Slot 1 (10:00 AM – 11:15 AM) | Break | Slot 2 (11:30 AM – 12:45 PM) |
| Monday | KS3 (Years 8 & 9) Session 1 | — | — |
| Tuesday | Year 10 Session 1 | — | — |
| Wednesday | Year 11 Session 1 | 15 mins | KS3 (Years 8 & 9) Session 2 |
| Thursday | Year 10 Session 2 | — | — |
| Friday | Year 11 Session 2 | — | — |
KS3 (Years 8 & 9) Summer School: Voices of the Caribbean
Course Overview
Welcome to an inspiring, high-energy exploration of identity, culture, and history. This August, mrburkesclassroom is diving into the rich literary heritage of Black Caribbean writers. From the powerful rhythms of poetry to gripping non-fiction accounts and biographical studies, students will sharpen their reading comprehension, master language analysis, and engage in mature group debates.
This course acts as a GCSE Launchpad, moving students away from basic summaries and training them to become critical thinkers who can dissect complex texts with confidence.
- Class Size: Maximum 6 students
- Duration: 4 weeks
- Timings: Tuesdays (10:00 AM – 11:15 AM) and Thursdays (10:00 AM – 11:15 AM)
- Fees: £150 for the full course (8 sessions | 10 hours)
The Weekly Planner
Week 1: Identity, Home, and Belonging
- Session 1: The Journey Begins
- Day & Date: Tuesday 4th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus Text: Windrush Child by John Agard.
- Skills: Exploring narrative poetry, understanding the historical context of the Windrush generation, and learning how to extract implicit meaning from a text.
- Session 2: A Tale of Two Cities
- Day & Date: Thursday 6th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus Text: Island Man by Grace Nichols.
- Skills: Analyzing contrasting imagery between the vivid Caribbean and gray London. Students will practice zooming in on specific word choices to analyze a writer’s effect.
Week 2: Voice, Identity, and Trailblazing Women
- Session 3: The Power of the Spoken Word
- Day & Date: Tuesday 11th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus Text: Selected poetry by Benjamin Zephaniah.
- Skills: Exploring phonetic spelling, Creole influences, and how rhythm changes the meaning of poetry. Students will learn how to analyze tone, performance, and voice.
- Session 4: Trailblazing Women of the Caribbean
- Day & Date: Thursday 13th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus Text: Extracts from memoirs and biographical accounts of influential Caribbean women, including Baroness Floella Benjamin’s Coming to England and historical accounts of Nanny of the Maroons.
- Skills: Advanced non-fiction reading comprehension. Students will practice retrieving information, analyzing the writer’s perspective, and evaluating how these women navigated societal challenges. This session features a guided group discussion on resilience and cultural identity.
Week 3: Nature, Power, and Metaphor
- Session 5: Forces of Nature
- Day & Date: Tuesday 18th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus Text: Hurricane Hits England by Grace Nichols.
- Skills: Analyzing extended metaphors and structural shifts. This session introduces students to the high-level structural analysis required for top marks at GCSE.
- Session 6: Non-Fiction and Historical Comprehension
- Day & Date: Thursday 20th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus Text: Historical and geographical accounts of the Caribbean islands.
- Skills: Tackling complex informational texts. Students will practice skimming, scanning, synthesizing information from multiple paragraphs, and answering evidence-based comprehension questions.
Week 4: History, Heritage, and Mastery
- Session 7: Reclaiming the Narrative
- Day & Date: Tuesday 25th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus Text: Checking Out Me History by John Agard.
- Skills: An exclusive look at GCSE-level analysis using a staple exam text. We will dissect how Agard uses juxtaposition, historical references, and non-traditional grammar to deliver a powerful message.
- Session 8: The Final Showcase
- Day & Date: Thursday 27th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus Task: Critical Synthesis and Debate.
- Skills: Students will bring together the themes of identity, history, and voice explored throughout August. They will practice how to plan and write a formal, structured analytical response that meets the high expectations of upper Key Stage 3 and GCSE.
Year 10 Summer School: GCSE English Language Headstart
Course Overview
Get ahead of the curve before the school year even begins. This intensive August course is designed specifically for rising Year 10 students who want to demystify GCSE English Language (Paper 1 and Paper 2). We will strip away the exam anxiety by breaking down exactly what examiners are looking for, mastering the core reading comprehension skills, and learning how to write high-scoring fiction and non-fiction responses.
This course builds the rock-solid foundations required to hit the ground running in September, ensuring students enter their GCSE year with confidence, clarity, and a distinct competitive advantage.
- Class Size: Maximum 6 students
- Duration: 4 weeks
- Timings: Tuesdays (10:00 AM – 11:15 AM) and Thursdays (10:00 AM – 11:15 AM)
- Fees: £150 for the full course (8 sessions | 10 hours)
The Weekly Planner
Week 1: Mastering Paper 1 – Fiction Reading Skills
- Session 1: Decoding the Extract & Exploding Language
- Day & Date: Tuesday 4th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: How to active-read a 21st-century fiction extract under exam conditions. We will focus heavily on language analysis, learning how to select high-impact quotes and zoom in on microscopic word choices for top marks.
- Session 2: The Architecture of a Text (Structure)
- Day & Date: Thursday 6th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Demystifying structural analysis. Students will learn how to track narrative shifts, analyze structural pacing, and understand why a writer intentionally guides a reader’s attention from the opening line to the cliffhanger.
Week 2: Conquering Paper 1 – Creative Writing Mastery
- Session 3: Showstopping Openings & Descriptive Power
- Day & Date: Tuesday 11th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Moving away from cliché descriptions. Students will master advanced structural features, sensory language, and atmospheric imagery to craft compelling, high-scoring descriptive pieces based on exam-style picture prompts.
- Session 4: Mechanics, Control, and Narrative Arcs
- Day & Date: Thursday 13th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Technical accuracy and plot control. We will focus on varying sentence structures for dramatic effect, mastering sophisticated punctuation, and structuring a controlled narrative that avoids the trap of winding, pointless stories.
Week 3: Navigating Paper 2 – Non-Fiction Reading & Perspectives
- Session 5: Tearing Apart Non-Fiction & Viewpoints
- Day & Date: Tuesday 18th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Introduction to Paper 2 source analysis. Students will learn how to navigate 19th-century and 21st-century non-fiction texts, identifying a writer’s explicit and implicit viewpoints, tone, and bias.
- Session 6: The Art of Comparison & Synthesis
- Day & Date: Thursday 20th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Tackling the heavy-mark comparison questions. Students will learn a foolproof formula to synthesize information across two different texts and compare how two different writers present their perspectives on the same topic.
Week 4: Persuasive Writing & Exam Strategy
- Session 7: Writing to Persuade, Argue, and Innovate
- Day & Date: Tuesday 25th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Mastering the non-fiction writing section. We will look at formatting formal letters, articles, and speeches. Students will learn how to deploy sophisticated rhetorical devices to build undeniable, mature arguments.
- Session 8: The Formula for Timing & Exam Success
- Day & Date: Thursday 27th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Bringing it all together. This final session focuses on timing strategies, understanding the mark schemes inside out, and conducting a live walkthrough of an exam paper so students know exactly how to manage their time in future mocks.
Year 11 Summer School: GCSE English Language Exam Boot Camp
Course Overview
The final stretch starts now. This intensive August boot camp is designed specifically for rising Year 11 students who want to transform their approach to GCSE English Language (Paper 1 and Paper 2). This course doesn’t just teach what a metaphor is—it focuses on the exact exam mechanics, timing strategies, and advanced writing techniques needed to elevate answers from comfortable passes to Grades 7, 8, and 9.
Through small-group analysis of high-scoring exemplar scripts, live marking walkthroughs, and strict timed drills, students will eliminate guesswork and enter their final school year with absolute confidence.
- Class Size: Maximum 6 students
- Duration: 4 weeks
- Timings: Wednesdays (10:00 AM – 11:15 AM) and Fridays (10:00 AM – 11:15 AM)
- Fees: £150 for the full course (8 sessions | 10 hours)
The Weekly Planner
Week 1: High-Level Analysis (Paper 1 Fiction)
- Session 1: Perceptive Language Analysis & The Grade 9 Mark Scheme
- Day & Date: Wednesday 5th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Moving past basic feature spotting. Students will learn how to analyze structural shifts and layers of meaning within a fiction extract, shifting from functional analysis to the “perceptive and detailed” insights that secure top-tier marks.
- Session 2: Mastering the Evaluation Question
- Day & Date: Friday 7th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Conquering the heavy-mark Paper 1 evaluation task. Students will learn how to build a robust, critically evaluative argument, construct a clear thesis statement, and select the most compelling evidence to agree or disagree with an examiner’s prompt.
Week 2: Elite Creative Writing (Paper 1 Section B)
- Session 3: Conceptual Writing & Narrative Motifs
- Day & Date: Wednesday 12th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: How to plan a Grade 9 descriptive or narrative piece in just 5 minutes. We will explore advanced structural patterns, the use of recurring motifs, and how to manipulate atmosphere using sophisticated linguistic devices.
- Session 4: Technical Mastery under Pressure
- Day & Date: Friday 14th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Maximizing marks for technical accuracy. Students will practice manipulating sentence lengths for dramatic tension, using complex punctuation intentionally, and integrating high-level vocabulary seamlessly under strict timed conditions.
Week 3: Comparative Stamina (Paper 2 Non-Fiction)
- Session 5: Dissecting 19th-Century & Contemporary Perspectives
- Day & Date: Wednesday 19th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Overcoming the fear of pre-20th-century texts. Students will learn decoding skills for archaic vocabulary, tracking shifts in societal attitudes, and identifying subtle biases and tones in non-fiction writing.
- Session 6: Advanced Synthesis & Cross-Text Comparison
- Day & Date: Friday 21st August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Masterclass on the 12-mark and 14-mark comparative questions. Students will learn a highly efficient structural framework to seamlessly weave together comparisons of perspectives, themes, and methods across two distinct sources.
Week 4: Rhetorical Dominance & Pacing (Paper 2 Section B)
- Session 7: Political and Persuasive Oratory
- Day & Date: Wednesday 26th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Writing high-impact speeches, articles, and formal letters. Students will learn how to command authority using sophisticated structural frameworks, rhetorical devices, and nuanced arguments that challenge standard viewpoints.
- Session 8: The Ultimate Timing & Strategy Masterclass
- Day & Date: Friday 28th August
- Time: 10:00 AM – 11:15 AM
- Focus: Putting it all together. A comprehensive walkthrough of real examiner reports, strategic time-management plans for the exam hall, and critical proofreading habits that prevent dropped marks.
What Happens Now?
If you are interested in enrolling, please complete the registration form using the link below. The form will ask a few short questions to help us understand your needs and place the student in the most suitable group.
Once your registration has been submitted, you will receive contact from Mr Burke within 72 hours to arrange a short telephone consultation. This call is an opportunity to discuss your child’s needs (or your own, for adult courses), confirm the most appropriate class, and outline the next steps.
After the consultation, your place on the course will be confirmed.
Click here to complete the Registration Form
If you would prefer, you can also contact us directly by email:
info@mrburkesclassroom.com