GCSE
English
All students will follow the new Edexcel GCSE (9-1) English Language and GCSE (9-1) English Literature.
Topics and texts will be studied at different times by different classes. Copies of all texts are provided in class.
From September 2013, Year 10 have been placed in bands (A, B and C) – all students have access to the full range of grades for the Edexcel GCSE in English Language and the Edexcel GCSE in English Literature.
Students will be prepared for the Edexcel GCSE in English Language and the Edexcel GCSE in English Literature.
For the English Language GCSE, students will study unseen extracts from the Language anthology (Edexcel) and will practise writing in different genres, for different audiences and for different purposes.
For the English Literature GCSE, students will study a play, a novel and a Shakespeare play. They will also study and revise a range of poems from the ‘Conflict’ section of the poetry anthology.
ALL GCSE TEXTS ARE CLOSED BOOK.
Online reading lists - literary classics
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare
Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare
The Tempest, by William Shakespeare
The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Lois Stevenson
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
The Sign of the Four, by Arthur Conan Doyle
An Inspector Calls, by J. B. Priestley
Blood Brothers, by Willy Russell
DNA, by Dennis Kelly
A Taste of Honey, by Shelagh Delaney
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
Animal Farm, by George Orwell
Assessment information
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Specification: EDEXCEL 1EN0
Component 1 (1EN0/01) will be externally assessed. It will involve:
- Reading - questions on an unseen 19th-century fiction extract.
- Writing - a choice of two writing tasks, linked by a theme to the reading extract.
Component 2 (1EN0/02) will also be externally assessed. It will involve:
- Reading - questions on two thematically linked, unseen non-fiction extracts.
- Writing - a choice of two writing tasks, linked by a theme to the reading extracts.
ENGLISH LITERATURE
Specification: EDEXCEL 1ET0
Component 1 (1ET0/01) will be externally assessed. It will involve two sections:
A. Shakespeare: a two-part question, with the first task focused on an extract of approximately 30 lines. The second task is focused on how a theme reflected in the extract is explored elsewhere in the play.
B. Post-1914 British play or novel: ONE essay question. Closed book - no texts are allowed in the exam.
Component 2 (1ET0/02) will be externally assessed. It will involve two sections:
A. 19th-century novel: a two-part question, with the first part focused on an extract of approximately 400 words. The second part is an essay question exploring the whole text.
B.
- Part 1: ONE question comparing a named poem from the Pearson Poetry Anthology collection to another poem from that collection.
- Part 2: ONE question comparing two unseen contemporary poems.
The preparation and study of spoken language is a compulsory requirement of the course of study. It will appear on all students' certificates as a separately recorded grade, alongside the overall grade issued. Grades will appear as: Pass, Merit or Distinction.
Useful links
Revision guides on literature texts studied are always useful support, for example, CPG publications www.cpgbooks.co.uk