4th November 2015
Dear Parent/Carer,
As you may already be aware, there have recently been some changes to your child’s GCSE English course.
The English specifications are now linear, meaning that the examinations students sit at the end of Year
11 account for 100% of their grades for both English Language and English Literature. Please find detailed
below the texts which students will be studying and the overview of their course:
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley or A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
Pigeon English - Stephen Kelman
Much Ado about Nothing - William Shakespeare
A collection of conflict poetry from an Anthology provided by the exam board.
English Language:
2 exams worth 50% each
Papers split into reading and writing sections.
Texts for reading will be from 19th-21st century sources, both fiction and non-fiction.
Writing sections will ask students to write from a specific perspective and write either a narrative or
descriptive piece.
English Literature:
2 exams split into 40%/60%
Paper 1 (40%): Shakespeare (Much Ado about Nothing) and 19th Century Novel (Frankenstein/A Christmas
Carol)
Paper 2 (60%): Modern Prose (Pigeon English) and Poetry (Conflict cluster and unseen)
We have also managed to arrange a visit from the author Stephen Kelman who will be speaking to the
students about Pigeon English. This is a brilliant opportunity for the students to meet the author of one of
the texts that they are studying and question him about his intentions when writing his novel.
Please feel free to bring any questions you have regarding the specification to the Year 10 Parent’s
Consultation Meeting on Wednesday 24th November 2015.
Kind Regards,
A Cownley
Amanda Cownley
2 I/C English KS4