Class details

Who?
Students aged around 14-years-old: the course is designed to be equivalent to Grade 8, and to help students who wish to write IG in two years’ time (2029).

What?
Our English Pre-IG course is designed to build a strong junior high foundation in all the critical areas which will later be developed through the IG syllabus: reading comprehension, writing style and composition. We use the Bob Jones University Press Writing & Grammar 8 textbook, which combines a thorough understanding of the various aspects of grammar with practice in essay writing. This approach enables students to “get behind the scenes” of their own and other writers’ sentences, and then to apply this knowledge in longer-form writing as they learn how write a variety of text-types, including argumentative, persuasive, narrative and other essays. 

A literature component allows students to explore four different setwork texts over the course of the year. These texts are designed to help students apply what they are learning about writing in understanding how different writers use different tools to create differing styles and to explore different issues. The four books are chosen to expose the students to a variety of genres, styles and time periods.

Weekly classes include:

• Feedback on weekly homework
• Discussion of new material

Students will also submit five assignments for detailed written feedback over the course of the year.

Tutor
The tutor for these classes is Chiara Button.

 Register

Who?
Students aged around 15-years-old. The course is designed to be equivalent to Grade 9, and to help students who wish to write IG in one year’s time (2028).

What?
The Pre-IG Year 2 course begins to prepare students more seriously for tackling the IG syllabus, while still maintaining a broad foundation in grammar and reading to ensure students can progress from here to IG with a fully rounded understanding of the subject. We have developed coursework which introduces the basic IG syllabus, focusing intensely on developing students' appreciation of language and how writers use different linguistic tools to create different effects. A grammar component is still maintained, as students develop both their understanding of and their ability to use technical standard grammar. Most importantly, we ensure that students' engagement with the broader use of English is maintained and developed through a literature component. Students engage with four setwork texts through the year, through which they are able to apply their understanding of language and literary devices to see how these can be used by different writers for in different genres and styles to create different effects.

Weekly classes include:

• Oral feedback on weekly homework
• Discussion of new material

Students will submit several written assignments during the year for detailed written feedback. The last of these will include IG past papers.

Tutor
The tutor for these classes is Chiara Button.

 Register

Who?
Students who wish to write IG in May 2027. Students should have completed most of the IG syllabus and be familiar with the exam questions if they wish to register for this course. Specific instructions regarding the changes to the 2027 syllabus will be given during classes.

What?
The focus in this course will be on building on students' prior knowledge to develop exam technique and prepare students to write in the May session of 2027. Most of the course will be dedicated to doing past papers and developing the skills required to do well in exams, such as time management, planning techniques and learning how to use the word limit to the best possible advantage.

Weekly classes include:

• Feedback on past papers
• Discussion of exam strategies
• Tailored revision and exam preparation advice

There will be a minimum of seven past paper practice sets prescribed through the course, which students will submit for detailed feedback.

Tutor
The tutor for these classes is Chiara Button.

 Register

Who?
Students writing IG in October/November 2027.
This course is designed to cover the whole IG syllabus, so it is not necessary to have completed Pre-IG Year 2 with Imago beforehand.

What?
In the second year IG English course we develop the foundations of the IG syllabus, extending students in certain areas so that they are ready to write their final exam with confidence. The coursework has been designed to cover all the objectives of the IG syllabus in both reading and writing. This includes extensive comprehension work, as well as a focus on students’ own writing style. Students also explore the use of language for effect through a literature anthology which introduces and applies concepts of language use critical for both the reading and the writing paper in IG. Past paper revision is built into the course throughout the year. 

Weekly classes include:

• Feedback on weekly homework
• Discussion of new material

There will be a minimum of seven past paper practice sets prescribed through the course of the year, which students will submit for detailed feedback.

Tutor
The tutor for these classes is Chiara Button.

 Register

Who?
This course is designed for students who completed IG in 2026, but wish to take two years to prepare for AS; it is thus equivalent to Grade 11 and is aimed at students around 17-years-old, hoping to write AS English in October/November 2028.

What?
In many ways the most exciting year for a student of English, this course aims to develop a student's ability to understand in a very technical and minute way the choices which a writer makes and the effects these choices can have. Since AS English is a skills-based exam that requires students to have built up their perceptiveness in terms of language and its use, students have the opportunity through this course to broaden and deepen their understanding of the language and to start seeing its real-world applications. Through a comprehensive study of Leading Questions, students should gain a deeper insight into the way language works, how and why writers use language and what language is capable of achieving.

The first year coursebook was created to help students apply this knowledge in a practical way in the exam, exposing them to the basics of analysis writing and text types. Students should come to a greater understanding of the different types of text specifically tested in the AS exam, and also have a firm grasp on the techniques of analysis by the end of the year.

A thorough literature component in which students tackle more serious works and themes aims to inspire discussion and thought around how literature is created and how it functions in human society. Armed with this type of appreciation, students should feel confident about heading into the AS second year course the following year.

Two weekly classes include:

• Feedback on weekly homework
• Work on new material for the following week's homework

Students submit five assignments through the course of the year for detailed written feedback. The last assignment consists of an AS exam-style question to help students gauge their progress on the AS assessment objectives as they head into AS Year 2 the following year.

Tutor
The tutor for these classes is Chiara Button.

 Register

Who?

Students wishing to write AS in October 2027. The class aims to cater for students finishing their IG English in May 2026, so will start in July 2026 and run to October 2027. The first class will be on Thursday 30 July.

What?
The 18-month course combines elements of both the first and second year programmes for students who are taking the course over 18 months instead of 1 or 2 years. Students build up their understanding of the mechanics and intricacy of language through study of linguistic devices and language effects. The coursebook incorporates a reading anthology so that students gain exposure to the full range of text types required at AS level, and also have the opportunity to practice applying their analytical skills on these text types. Writing assignments through the year are targeted at helping students build confidence in writing many examples of all the text types specified in the AS syllabus, while also giving them the chance to develop their own writing voice and style.
Past paper practice is incorporated throughout the course, so that students are fluent in the skills required to write technical analysis essays by the time they need to prepare for their exam.

Weekly classes include:

• Feedback on weekly homework
• Discussion of new material
  

There will be a minimum of ten past paper practices or long written assignments incorporated through the course, which students will submit for detailed feedback.

Tutor
The tutor for this course is Chiara Button.

 Register

Who?
Students writing AS in October/November 2027.
This course is designed to go through the AS syllabus content thoroughly in one year, and is thus appropriate both for students who completed the first year AS course through Imago in 2026 and for new students who have not done the first year course but wish to write AS at the end of 2027.

What?
This course is designed to help students gain a refined appreciation for language through a rigorous engagement with the syllabus content. Through the coursebook, students are given detailed and practical instruction on how texts are created and how they can be analysed in an exam-style essay. The coursebook has also been created with a reading anthology built in, so that over the year students are exposed to a diverse variety of the different text types listed in the AS syllabus, and can apply their analytical skills to these text types through the designated exercises. Writing exercises have also been designed around the text types required by the AS syllabus, ensuring students both learn the conventions of each text type and have the opportunity to begin developing their own voice and style. Past paper practice is incorporated through the coursework so that students can build their confidence in answering exam-style questions from the beginning of the year.

Weekly classes include:

• Feedback on weekly homework
• Discussion of new material

There will be a minimum of seven past paper practices incorporated into the coursework throughout the year, which students will submit for detailed feedback.

Tutor
The tutor for this course is Chiara Button.

 Register