📚 English and English with Drama

← Back to Pre-Enrolment Homepage

Welcome to the PGCE Secondary English and English with Drama

A very warm welcome to the PGCE Secondary English and English with Drama programme at Plymouth Marjon University.

I am absolutely delighted that you will be joining us in September and am really looking forward to working with you over the coming year as you begin your journey towards becoming an English teacher.

English is a rich, creative and intellectually challenging subject that enables young people to understand themselves, others and the world around them. Through reading, writing, speaking and listening, pupils develop the knowledge and confidence to communicate effectively, think critically and appreciate the diversity of human experience.

For those joining the English with Drama pathway, you will also explore the transformative power of performance, storytelling and theatre. Drama offers unique opportunities for creativity, collaboration and confidence, whilst supporting pupils' literacy, communication and personal development.

I hope that you are able to enjoy a well-deserved break over the summer whilst also beginning to prepare for the exciting year ahead. One of the best ways to do this is by continuing to develop your subject knowledge and becoming familiar with some of the texts and professional reading that are commonly encountered in secondary English classrooms.

Remember—you are not expected to know everything before September. Curiosity, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn are far more important than arriving with all the answers. Our role is to support you in becoming a confident, reflective and research-informed teacher over the course of the year.

💡 Subject Knowledge Development

.

During your interview you completed a Subject Knowledge Self-Assessment. Before the course begins, revisit this and identify any areas you would like to strengthen.

You might wish to refresh your understanding of:

Shakespeare
Nineteenth-century literature
Modern drama
Poetry from different periods
Literary criticism
Grammar and linguistics
Creative writing
Spoken language
Theatre practitioners (English with Drama)
Devising and performance

You may find these organisations particularly useful throughout your training year.

National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE)

The UK's leading professional association for English teachers. Membership provides access to journals, research, classroom resources and conferences.

English & Media Centre (EMC)

One of the best sources of English teaching resources available, including curriculum guidance, CPD and outstanding classroom materials.

National Literacy Trust

Excellent resources on literacy, vocabulary, reading for pleasure and supporting disadvantaged learners.

Royal Shakespeare Company

Particularly useful for Shakespeare pedagogy, rehearsal room approaches and practical classroom activities.

National Theatre

Explore the National Theatre Collection, recordings, teacher resources and practitioner interviews.

Poetry Society

An excellent resource for contemporary poetry and classroom inspiration.

British Library

Fantastic for contextual knowledge, archives and literary collections.

🎭 English with Drama

If you are following the English with Drama pathway, you may also wish to explore:

National Theatre Learning
Frantic Assembly
Shakespeare Schools Festival
Drama Matters
Drama & Theatre magazine
Digital Theatre+

These provide excellent opportunities to strengthen your understanding of performance, devising, rehearsal techniques and drama pedagogy.

📚 GCSE & A-Level Specifications

Before September, spend a little time exploring the current examination specifications.

These include:

AQA
Pearson Edexcel
OCR
Eduqas (WJEC)

Focus on becoming familiar with:

Assessment Objectives
Set texts
Examination structure
Spoken Language assessment
Non-Examination Assessment
Mark schemes and exemplar responses
💻 Useful Online Resources
BBC Bitesize
Oak National Academy
English & Media Centre
National Literacy Trust
Royal Shakespeare Company Learning
National Theatre Learning
TES Resources

🗂️ Organisation for Our Subject Sessions

One small practical suggestion that previous trainees have found incredibly helpful is to come to our first Subject Knowledge session (Module M53) with:

One folder dedicated to M53
One notebook dedicated to M53

Over the years, I have found that this is one of the best ways to help trainees keep their notes organised and build a valuable resource that they can return to throughout the course and into their teaching careers.

If you prefer working digitally, you may instead wish to create a dedicated M53 folder on your OneDrive or another cloud-based platform. Many trainees enjoy working physically with paper and folders, while others prefer digital organisation. Either approach is absolutely fine—the important thing is having one dedicated place where everything related to the module is stored.

📚 Suggested Reading

You are not expected to read everything before September, but engaging with a selection of the texts below will help you strengthen your subject knowledge and begin thinking like an English teacher.

If possible, I would encourage you to obtain your own copies of the GCSE texts listed below. Throughout the year you will want to annotate, highlight and make notes in them, and many trainees find they become invaluable resources during their first teaching posts. Second-hand copies can often be found very cheaply through World of Books, AbeBooks, charity shops or online marketplaces.

Core English Texts

Macbeth – William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet – William Shakespeare
An Inspector Calls – J.B. Priestley
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
AQA Power and Conflict Poetry Anthology (or any revision guide containing the anthology)

English Teaching & Professional Reading

David Lodge – The Art of Fiction
Teresa Cremin & Debra Myhill – Learning to Teach English in the Secondary School
Andy Tharby – Making Every English Lesson Count
Andy Tharby – How to Explain Absolutely Anything to Absolutely Anyone
Andy Tharby – Developing Expert Learners
Alex Quigley – Closing the Reading Gap
Alex Quigley – Closing the Vocabulary Gap
David Didau – Making Kids Cleverer
Mary Myatt – Back on Track
Doug Lemov – Teach Like a Champion 3.0
Jennifer Webb – How to Teach English
Jennifer Webb – The Reading Teacher's Book
Michael Rosen – What is Literature?
Geoff Barton – Don't Call It Literacy!
John Tomsett & Mary Myatt – Huh: Curriculum Conversations Between Subject and Senior Leaders
James Durran – Teaching English by the Book

English with Drama

If you are joining the English with Drama pathway, you may also enjoy exploring:

Jonothan Neelands – Structuring Drama Work
Dorothy Heathcote – Collected Writings on Education and Drama
Joe Winston – Drama and English at the Heart of the Curriculum
Frantic Assembly – The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising Theatre
David Farmer – Learning Through Drama

Above all, enjoy reading over the summer. Whether you revisit a Shakespeare play, discover a contemporary novel, explore a poetry collection or dip into one of the professional texts, every book you read will contribute to your development as an English teacher. The aim isn't to complete the list—it's to begin building your confidence, curiosity and passion for the subject before September.

📧Stay in touch

Most importantly, enjoy your summer.

Teaching is an incredibly rewarding profession, and I hope you are feeling excited about beginning the journey in September.

If you have any questions at all before the course begins, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I am always happy to help.

I look forward to welcoming you to Plymouth Marjon University and meeting you all in September.

Contact

Chloe Carrubba
Secondary English and English with Drama Lead
📧 ccarrubba@marjon.ac.uk