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Newlands
Girls’ School

KS4 - GCSE English Language and Literature

Course Content

Year 10

Term 1

  • English Literature: AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2: Section B – Power and Conflict Poetry. Students will study the poems from the AQA GCSE Power and Conflict Poetry Anthology. Within the context of studying these poems, students will be taught poetry terminology, historical contexts, approaches to poetry analysis, and essay writing.
  • English Language: AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1: Writing – Writing to Describe. Students will be taught how to produce descriptive pieces of writing based on a given stimulus.

Term 2

  • English Literature: AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 1: Section A – Shakespeare. Students will study either Macbeth or Much Ado About Nothing. Within the context of studying the play, students will be taught literary terminology, historical contexts, approaches to analysis, and essay writing.
  • English Language: AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1: Writing – Writing to Narrate. Students will be taught how to produce narrative pieces of writing based on a given stimulus. 

Term 3

  • English Language: AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1: Reading. Students will be taught the knowledge and skills required to answer Questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the exam paper.
  • English Language: AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1: Writing. Students will revise and practise writing to describe and writing to narrate.

Term 4

  • English Literature: AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2 – Section A: Modern Texts. Students will study either An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley or Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Within the context of studying the text, students will be taught literary terminology, historical contexts, approaches to analysis, and essay writing.

Term 5

  • English Language: AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 – Revision. Students will revise the knowledge and skills required for AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1.

Terms 6

  • English Literature: AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 1 – Shakespeare Revision. Students will revise their Shakespeare text.
  • English Literature: AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2: Section B – Power and Conflict Poetry. Students will return to studying the poems from the AQA GCSE Power and Conflict Poetry Anthology.

 

Year 11

Term 1

  • English Language: AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: Reading. Students will be taught the knowledge and skills required to answer Questions 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the exam paper.

Term 2

  • English Language: AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2: Writing – Writing to Persuade. Students will be taught how to produce persuasive pieces of writing based on a given stimulus.
  • English Literature: AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2: Section C – Unseen Poetry. Students will learn how to analyse and write about unseen poems.

Term 3

  • Speaking and Listening: AQA GCSE English Spoken Language Non-Exam Assessment. Students will prepare to deliver a speech and respond to questions on a topic of their choosing.
  • English Literature: AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2 – Section A: The 19th-century Novel. Students will study either A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens or Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Within the context of studying the text, students will be taught literary terminology, historical contexts, approaches to analysis, and essay writing.

Term 4

  • English Literature: AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 1 – Revision. Students will revise their Shakespeare text and their 19th-century novel.
  • English Language: AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1 – Revision. Students will revise the knowledge and skills required for AQA GCSE English Language Paper 1.

Term 5

  • English Literature: AQA GCSE English Literature Paper 2 – Revision. Students will revise the AQA Power and Conflict Poetry Anthology, unseen poetry, and their modern text.
  • English Language: AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2 – Revision. Students will revise the knowledge and skills required for AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2.

 

Assessment

Non-Exam Assessment: Spoken Language

  • Students will deliver a presentation and respond to questions on a topic of their choosing.
  • Students will be awarded a grade of Pass, Merit, or Distinction.

GCSE English Language

Paper 1

  • Paper 1 is a 1-hour 45-minutes exam.
  • It is worth 80 marks (50% of the GCSE).
  • It is comprised of Section A: Reading (4 questions) and Section B: Writing (1 question).

Paper 2

  • Paper 2 is a 1-hour 45-minutes exam.
  • It is worth 80 marks (50% of the GCSE).
  • It is comprised of Section A: Reading (4 questions) and Section B: Writing (1 question).

GCSE English Literature

Paper 1

  • Paper 1 is a 1-hour 45-minutes exam.
  • It is worth 64 marks (40% of the GCSE).
  • It is comprised of Section A: Shakespeare (Macbeth or Much Ado About Nothing) and Section B: The 19th-century Novel (A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens or Frankenstein by Mary Shelley).

Paper 2

  • Paper 2 is a 2-hour 15-minutes exam.
  • It is worth 96 marks (60% of the GCSE).
  • It is comprised of Section A: Modern Texts (An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley or Lord of the Flies by William Golding), Section B: Poetry (AQA Power and Conflict Poetry), and Section C: Unseen Poetry.