English GCSE
At GCSE all classes follow the OCR English Language and Literature syllabuses (though the lower set may take this at Foundation rather than Higher Tier), looking at six set texts over the two years. This entails study of a Shakespeare play (usually “Macbeth” or “Romeo and Juliet”), with such texts as “Of Mice and Men”, Wilfred Owen’s and Seamus Heaney’s poetry, “An Inspector Calls” and “Animal Farm”. Three oral tasks and a study of the spoken language of a famous figure such as Barack Obama are required for English Language, with one exam on imaginative writing and one on Non-fiction and Media tasks.
The seven assessments are spread out over the two years of the course to avoid “stress points” occurring at any one time, with one exam and two Controlled Assessments in year 10, one exam and one Controlled Assessment in January of Year 11 and the final two exams in the last term.
Plays: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and An Inspector Calls
Poetry: Seamus Heaney and Wilfred Owen