Students will be entered for an English Language  qualification. Assessment for both qualifications is a combination of written coursework, speaking and listening tasks and examination.

What will I learn to do?

Reading
You will read a range of texts, both pre and post 1914. This will include a Shakespeare play, poetry and stories from other cultures.  You will also have access to extracts from the world of media.  You will learn to use a range of strategies to access meaning in a text and learn to read for a specific purpose.  By the end of the course we hope that you will have become reflective, critical and discriminatory readers.
Writing
You will be given the opportunity to write in a variety of styles, to cover the main functions of writing: to entertain, to inform, to instruct and to persuade.  Some of these opportunities will be for coursework and others for exam practice. You will be shown how to improve your writing by redrafting and, on occasion, by making sensible use of word processing.  By the end of the course, you will be able to write fluently, accurately and effectively.
Speaking and Listening
Oral work will assume a much greater importance as it is a measurable aspect of your GCSE. You will be given opportunities to contribute towards class discussion, to work in a group to give a presentation and to participate in role-play. All of these activities will make you more confident about conveying a point of view and will enable you to work effectively in a group and to use talk to further your ideas.

What skills do I need?

Over two years you will improve upon the various skills learnt at KS3 and will develop new skills, such as summarizing, exam techniques and being aware of audience. Progress in these skills will benefit you in other subjects.

What is next for me after this course?

English at GCSE is an essential qualification for most university courses and a requirement asked for by most employers.
GCSE can lead to further opportunities to study at AS/A2.

Possible careers include: journalism, sports media, teaching, law, management and business.

English language – Coursework & Exam

Coursework will be four written assignments and three oral pieces. There are two exam papers, each lasting 2 hours.

	The first will test your reading comprehension of unseen material which will be a prose passage from the English literary heritage.
	The second exam will be an opportunity to show knowledge and understanding of unseen media and non-fiction texts..
	Each coursework component is worth 20% of the final grade and each exam is worth 30%. Students will be able to achieve a grade A* - G

GCSE LITERATURE - Course work & Exam

	Coursework will account for 30% of the final grade
	Again there might be work common to Language as well as literature
	There will be one exam which will last 2½ hours
	Students will be able to gain grade A* - G