GCSE English
Curriculum:
In Year 10, students start studying for their GCSE.
All students study for the Pearson Edexcel English Language IGCSE, and the AQA English Literature GCSE.
Early Entry:
We offer our Year 10 students an opportunity to sit their IGCSE in English Language at the end of the academic year. This has proved to be highly successful with over 75% of students securing a grade 4 to a grade 9 by the end of Year 10.
English Literature:
Click to Expand Year 10 Course Content:
Autumn Topic
Spring Topic 1
Spring Topic 2
Summer Topic 1
A Christmas Carol
An Inspector Calls
Poetry: Power and Conflict Poetry
In the Summer Term, students will be sitting their IGCSE English Language exam, therefore lesson time is dedicated to this.
Students will explore: setting, characters, themes and how Dickens presents them using language and structure.
Students will explore the Victorian era and Dickens’ intentions to improve societal attitudes.
Students will have some opportunities to produce creative writing pieces where spelling, grammar and punctuation will be a focus also.
Students will look at the exam layout and criteria and practise how to structure an essay response.
Students will study the play in its entirety as part of their Literature GCSE.
Students will look at the social and historical context and what influenced the writer.
Students will analyse language and structure closely to be able to comment on the effects of writer’s methods.
Students will work on developing their essay structure to ensure it meets the exam requirements / objectives by looking at past questions and exemplar responses.
Students will be issued with their anthology of poems, which we will read and study in depth.
The focus will be on how writers convey meaning through the use of language and structure. We will consolidate and introduce new key poetic terms.
We will also look at the context of each individual poem.
Students will practise their essay writing skills and gain a good understanding of the assessment objectives and how to achieve them.
Assessment Objectives Focused:
Assessment Objectives Focused:
Assessment Objectives Focused:
- AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts
- AO2: Analyse language, form and structure
- AO3: Understand relationships between texts and contexts
- AO4: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence-structures; write using accurate spelling and punctuation.
- AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts
- AO2: Analyse language, form and structure
- AO3: Understand relationships between texts and contexts
- AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts
- AO2: Analyse language, form and structure
- AO3: Understand relationships between texts and contexts
- AO4: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence-structures; write using accurate spelling and punctuation.
Key Vocabulary:
Key Vocabulary:
Key Vocabulary:
Author, Victorian, novel, society, poor vs. rich, family, bildungsroman, protagonist, antagonist, narrator, narrative perspective, miser, language, structure, description, similes, characterisation, symbol, symbolism, image, imagery, moral, attitudes
Morality, responsibility, social message, political view, capitalism, socialism, didactic, contemporary audience, play, stage directions, characterisation, Act, Scene, set, props, language, structure, infer, analyse, viewpoints, perspectives, summary, compare, reference / quote, writing styles, purpose, audience
Oppression, manipulation, propaganda, war, ideology, political pressure, society, simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhythm, rhyme, volta, enjambment, structure, stanza, response, compare, similarities, differences, effects, attitudes, poet, context, unseen
Click to Expand Year 11 Course Content:
Autumn Topic
Spring Topic
Summer Topic
The Merchant of Venice
Unseen Poetry / Revision
In the Summer Term, students will be sitting their GCSE English Literature exam, therefore lesson time is dedicated to revision.
Students will read the play in full and analyse each scene, understanding Shakespearean language and how they can comment on its effect.
Students will explore the social and historical context, including: race, religion, class, monarchy and relevant geographical locations.
Students will have the opportunity to watch the film version and scenes from theatre productions to aid their understanding.
Students will continue to practise exam questions and familiarise themselves with the exam criteria and layout
Students will look at a range of poems on different topics and in different forms, in order to hone in on their inference and analytical skills.
Students will also need to practise comparing poems. They will look at language and structure and how they convey meaning and effect on the reader.
Students will practise a range of exam style questions in preparation for their exam.
Students will then focus on revising all texts in preparation for the exam.
We will look at different ways of revising and completing more practice questions.
If students need to retake their Language exam, revision will also take place for this
Assessment Objectives Focused:
Assessment Objectives Focused:
- AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts
- AO2: Analyse language, form and structure
- A03: Understand relationships between texts and contexts
- A04: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence-structures; write using accurate spelling and punctuation.
- AO1: Identify and interpret explicit and implicit information and ideas
- AO2: Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support their views
- A03: Compare writers’ ideas and perspectives, as well as how these are conveyed, across two or more texts
- A04: Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate textual references
- A05: Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audiences
- A06: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate spelling and punctuation
Key Vocabulary:
Key Vocabulary:
moneylender, usurer, usury, commerce, venture, speculative, merchandise, mercenary, prosperity, prosperous, hazard, risk, contract, bond, forfeit, arrogant, harmony, lawyer, justice, mercy, compromise, compassion, suitor, tolerance, prejudice, anti-Semitic, pogrom, elopement, mitigate, in mitigation, cynical, cynically
unseen poetry, language, structure, form, patterns, analyse, infer, compare, poet, effect, revision, texts, extract, language, structure, source, response, effect, impressions, references / quotes, text, writing style, audience, purpose, evaluate, compare
English Language:
Click to Expand Course Content:
Students will begin preparation for their IGCSE exam in the summer. This will consist of really focusing in on each section of the paper.
Section A
Section B
Section C
Involves practising the retrieval of information from texts, analysing language and structure, referencing effectively and being able to compare texts.
Includes following set instructions accurately and writing to suit the given style, audience and purpose.
Is about creative writing, so using a range of features and accurate spelling, grammar and punctuation
At the time of examination students should have developed the following skills:
- How to read and interpret a range of non-fiction
- How to analyse language and structure
- How to compare texts effectively
- How to organise and structure ideas, using linguistic features to suit style, audience and purpose
- How to use a range of sentence structures and punctuation for effect
Key Vocabulary:
Language, structure, source, extract, quote, analyse, respond, infer, zoom, explain, compare, style, audience, purpose, effect
Subject Overview:
Students in Year 10 and 11 have 4 English lessons each week.
Year 10 and Year 11 students have English homework set every week.
This is linked to their GCSE studies and will include regular examination practice questions.
All homework tasks are set on the school system EPraise and larger files referenced may be uploaded to Microsoft Teams.
Assessments:
GCSE students are assessed primarily through mock examinations.
They will also receive examination practice questions throughout the year which may also be set as homework.
