GCSE English Qualifications at Brighouse High School

There are three main GCSE courses on offer in the English department at Brighouse High School. Students may take the GCSE English course, which is a combination of English Language and English Literature, or two separate GCSE courses in English Language and English Literature.

The exam board used for all three options is WJEC.

GCSE English

WRITTEN PAPER 30% (1 hour)Unit 1: English in the daily world (reading) (40 Raw Marks; 60 UMS) Reading: non-fiction texts

WRITTEN PAPER 30% (1 hour)Unit 2: English in the daily world (writing) (40 Raw Marks; 60 UMS) Writing: information and ideas

CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT 40% Unit 3: English in the world of the imagination (80 Raw Marks; 80 UMS) Reading: literary texts (two assignments: 10% each): literary heritage poetry & Shakespeare; different cultures prose Writing: open writing (two assignments: 10% each): 1st and 3rd person narrative

CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT Unit 4: Speaking and Listening (40 Raw Marks) Speaking and Listening: Communicating and adapting language; interacting and responding; creating and sustaining roles

GCSE English Language

WRITTEN PAPER 30% (1 hour)Unit 1: Studying written language (40 Raw Marks; 60 UMS) Reading: non-fiction texts

WRITTEN PAPER 30% (1 hour)Unit 2: Using written language (40 Raw Marks; 60 UMS) Writing: information and ideas

CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT 30% Unit 3: Literary reading and creative writing (80 Raw Marks; 60 UMS) Studying written language: extended literary text (15%) Using language: creative writing (two assignments: 7.5% each: descriptive; narrative)

CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT 10% Unit 4: Spoken language (20 Raw Marks; 20 UMS) Studying spoken language: written controlled assessment on variations, choices, change in spoken language (10%)

Using language: Speaking and Listening (Communicating and adapting language; interacting and responding; creating and sustaining roles) This assessment is not included in the final subject award

GCSE English Literature

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT 35% (2 hrs) Unit 1: Prose (different cultures) and poetry (contemporary) (50 Raw Marks; 70 UMS) Section A 21% Different Cultures Prose: Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck); OR Anita and Me (Syall); OR To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee); OR I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Angelou); OR Chanda’s Secrets (Stratton) Section B 14% Contemporary: Unseen poetry comparison

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENT 40% (2 hrs) Unit 2a: Literary heritage drama and contemporary prose (*68 Raw Marks; 80 UMS) English/Irish/Welsh Literary Heritage Drama: Othello (Shakespeare); OR Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare); OR An Inspector Calls (Priestley); OR Hobson’s Choice (Brighouse); OR A Taste of Honey (Delaney) (20%) Contemporary Prose: Paddy Clarke, Ha Ha Ha (Doyle); OR Heroes (Cormier); OR Never Let Me Go (Ishiguro); OR About a Boy (Hornby); OR Resistance (Sheers) (20%) OR Unit 2b: Contemporary drama and literary heritage prose (*68 Raw Marks; 80 UMS) INDIVIDUAL TEXTS IN CONTEXT Contemporary Drama: The History Boys (Bennett); OR Blood Brothers (Russell);1 OR A View from the Bridge (Miller); OR Be My Baby (Whittington); OR My Mother Said I Never Should (Keatley) (20%) English/Irish/Welsh Literary Heritage Prose: Silas Marner (Eliot);OR Pride and Prejudice (Austen); OR A Christmas Carol (Dickens); OR Lord of the Flies (Golding); OR Ash on a Young Man’s Sleeve (Abse) (20%)

CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT (LINKED TEXTS) 25% Unit 3: Poetry and drama (literary heritage) (40 Raw Marks; 50 UMS) English/Irish/Welsh literary heritage: Poetry [taken from WJEC GCSE poetry collection] and play by Shakespeare.

EnglishExternal Examinations

WRITTEN PAPER 30% (1 hour)Unit 1: English in the daily world (reading) (40 Raw Marks; 60 UMS)

Reading: non-fiction texts

This unit will test through structured questions the reading of two non-fiction texts from the daily world. These may include: fact-sheets, leaflets, letters, extracts from autobiographies, biographies, diaries, advertisements, reports, articles, and digital and multi-modal texts of various kinds from newspapers and magazines, brochures and the internet. Visual material will always be included in the material used..

WRITTEN PAPER 30% (1 hour)Unit 2: English in the daily world (writing) (40 Raw Marks; 60 UMS)

Writing: information and ideas

This unit will test transactional and discursive writing through two equally weighted tasks (20 marks each). Across the two tasks candidates will be offered opportunities to write for a range of audiences and purposes, adapting style to form and real-life context in, for example, letters, articles, leaflets, reviews etc.

Written controlled assessment - 40%of final grade

English GCSE

Two reading assignments

Two writing assignments

A Shakespeare and poetry task and a task based on a

novel form a different culture.

Writing a first person and a third person

narrative.

CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT

Speaking and Listening

Speaking and Listening: Communicating and adapting language; interacting and responding; creating and sustaining roles Candidates will be required to complete at least three Speaking and Listening tasks through the exploration of ideas, texts and issues in scripted and improvised work. The three tasks will cover the following areas: Communicating and adapting language Interacting and responding Creating and sustaining roles

This will be reported on as part of the qualification, but will not form part of the final mark and grade.

English Language External Examinations

WRITTEN PAPER 30% (1 hour)Unit 1: Studying written language - non-fiction texts (40 Raw Marks; 60 UMS)

This unit will test through structured questions the reading of two non-fiction texts. Non-fiction texts may include: fact-sheets, leaflets, letters, extracts from autobiographies, biographies, diaries, advertisements, reports, articles and digital and multi-modal texts of various kinds from newspapers and magazines, brochures and the internet. Visual material will always be included in the material used.

WRITTEN PAPER 30% (1 hour) Unit 2: Using written language - information and ideas (40 Raw Marks; 60 UMS)

This unit will test transactional and discursive writing through two equally weighted tasks (20 marks each). Across the two tasks candidates will be offered opportunities to write for a range of audiences and purposes, adapting style to form and real-life context in, for example, letters, articles, leaflets, reviews etc.

Written controlled assessment - 40%of final grade

English Language GCSE

Two reading assignments

Two writing assignments

One response to a Shakespeare play or a novel

and one study of spoken language.

One piece of descriptive writing

piece and one piece of narrative/expressive

writing.

CONTROLLED ASSESSMENT

Speaking and Listening

Speaking and Listening: Communicating and adapting language; interacting and responding; creating and sustaining roles Candidates will be required to complete at least three Speaking and Listening tasks through the exploration of ideas, texts and issues in scripted and improvised work. The three tasks will cover the following areas: Communicating and adapting language Interacting and responding Creating and sustaining roles

This will be reported on as part of the qualification, but will not form part of the final mark and grade.

English LiteratureExternal Examination

Written Paper - 35% (2 hrs)

Unit 1: Prose (different cultures) and poetry (contemporary) (50 Raw Marks; 70 UMS) Section A 21%Section A requires study of a prose text from a different culture. It will require candidates to answer two questions on the chosen prose text. The first question (part (a)) will require close reading of an extract. The second question will offer a choice of tasks (parts (b) and (c)) relating to the text as a whole. Candidates are not permitted to take copies of the set texts into the examination.

Section B 14%Section B will consist of a question offering some structure for candidates to explore, respond to, and compare two contemporary unseen poems. In preparation for this unit, candidates will need to study at least fifteen poems, in addition to those studied for Unit 3.

External Examination

Written Paper - 40% (2 hrs)Unit 2a: Literary heritage drama and contemporary prose (68 Raw Marks; 80 UMS) This paper requires study of a drama text from the English/Irish/Welsh literary heritage and a contemporary prose text. It will require candidates to answer two questions on each text. In each case the first question (part (i)) will require close reading of an extract. The second question will offer a choice of tasks (parts (ii and (iii)) relating to the text as a whole. Candidates are not permitted to take copies of the set texts into the examination.

OR Unit 2b: Contemporary drama and literary heritage prose (68 Raw Marks; 80 UMS) This paper requires study of a contemporary drama text and a prose text from the English/Irish/Welsh literary heritage. It will require candidates to answer two questions on each text. In each case the first question (part (i)) will require close reading of an extract. The second question will offer a choice of tasks (parts (ii) and (iii))relating to the text as a whole. Candidates are not permitted to take copies of the set texts into the examination.

Written controlled assessment - 25%of final grade

English Literature GCSE

One assignment

One response linking a play by Shakespeare and a

selection of poetry.

English at BHS

The current policy regarding examination entries in English and English Literature at Brighouse High School sees the English or English Language GCSE being completed in Y10 with a possibility to resit the qualification in November and June of Y11. The student will always keep their best grade.In Y11, if the student has completed the English Language course, the English Literature GCSE qualification is completed.

English at BHS

Please use the following links to access the WJEC specifications for English, English Language and Literature:

English GCSEhttp://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/16210.pdf

English Language GCSEhttp://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/16212.pdf

English Literature GCSEhttp://www.wjec.co.uk/uploads/publications/16214.pdf

Please use the following two links to access past papers for English, English Language and English Literature:

English/English Languagehttp://www.wjec.co.uk/qualifications/qualification-resources.html?pastpaper=true&subject=English&level=gcse

English Literaturehttp://www.wjec.co.uk/qualifications/qualification-resources.html?pastpaper=true&subject=EnglishLiterature&level=gcse

Further resources