This is the third stage of an English programme designed for the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3. The text has been divided into two parts. The first section provides a wide range of material - stories, poems and plays - accompanied by activities which provide practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The second section of the text provides more specific coverage of each main profile component of the National Curriculum, supported by extended assignments based on story-telling, analysis of information and problem-solving. There is also a reference section on spelling, punctuation and the formation of words.