SGSE

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:

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:

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:

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:

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.