English
The study of English teaches you how to think and communicate effectively. It is a creative, enriching and exacting subject. Study of literature gives you close linguistic awareness and a sense of logic, together with the wisdom gleaned from studying the best that has been thought and written in our culture. Poetry, drama and fiction texts are studied each year with equal weighting, and students are encouraged to make cross-genre comparisons. Students also study non-fiction and are taught to write with precision and accuracy.
All students study for two GCSEs in English Language and English Literature. We offer English Literature at A Level, which is regarded as a ‘facilitating subject’ by the Russell Group universities.
Our A Level students have gone on to study English Literature, English, Law, Linguistics, Drama, Theatre and Film at Universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Exeter, Kings College, York and Birmingham.
Former English students are now busy as journalists, poets, teachers, lawyers, film makers, digital content providers and novelists.
The Department
The Department consists of Joanna Staunton – Head of English, Jane Leslie, Amy Doy, John Doy, Laura Parrett and Lucinda Misiewicz.
Shakespeare Offbyheart 2019
Poetry Eisteddfod 2019
Head of Department
Miss Joanna Staunton
Mayfield’s Head of English is Miss Joanna Staunton. Joanna Staunton studied English at Trinity College, Dublin, and completed an MPhil in Medieval language, literature and culture there. She spent time in postgraduate study at Oxford University and then worked as an antiquarian bookseller. She also once spent a year as a graduate assistant at Mayfield, before completing a PGCE at the Institute of Education (UCL). She re-joined Mayfield in 2019 and became head of department in 2020. She is particularly interested in Medieval literature, Irish literature, and the development of the novel, and expanding the range of voices in the English curriculum.