English Language and Literature Year 10 Options

AQA GCSE English Literature and AQA GCSE English Language


Course Content - What will you be studying?

Over the 2 years of GSCE course delivery, students will study a rich range of texts, building on their knowledge of literature and literary non-fiction in their Year 7-9 study.

GCSE English Literature: students will study a range of texts that are selected from across the canon of English Literature. Texts will include: a Shakespeare play, C19th novel, a modern text, the poetry anthology and unseen poetry. Over the GCSE course, students will: read a wide range of classic literature fluently and with good understanding, and make connections across their reading read in depth, critically and evaluatively, so that they are able to discuss and explain their understanding and ideas develop the habit of reading widely and often appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage write accurately, effectively and analytically about their reading acquire and use a wide vocabulary, including the grammatical terminology and other literary and linguistic terms they need to criticise and analyse what they read.

GCSE English Language: students will study a range of high-quality and challenging fiction and literary nonfiction texts from the C19th, C20th and C21st. The texts will make significant demands on students in terms of content, structure and the quality of language. The texts, across a range of genres and types, will support students in developing their own writing. Over the GCSE English Language course, students will: read a wide range of texts, fluently and with good understanding read critically, and use knowledge gained from wide reading to inform and improve their own writing write effectively and coherently use grammar correctly, punctuate and spell accurately acquire and apply a wide vocabulary, alongside a knowledge and understanding of grammatical terminology, and linguistic conventions for reading, writing and spoken language.

GCSE English Literature and English Language at PACA provide a curriculum that teaches beyond what is simply required by the exams. Both the Language and Literature curriculums are built around a process of interleaving knowledge and skills through textual study. To reflect the exam courses, material is studied on an ongoing cycle with a focus placed on context and analysis to aid the mastery of both the skills and knowledge required. This curriculum structure aims to improve student cultural literacy, retention of knowledge, build student confidence ahead of assessments and give a clear and consistent approach to study. The Language curriculum is built around a thematic approach that allows for purposeful and supportive links to be made between this, the content and context studied through Literature and real-world issues and ideas.


Assessment weighting - Exams / Coursework

GCSE English Literature 100% examination (2 papers)

GCSE English Language 100% examination (2 papers) plus teacher assessed Spoken Language


Who is this course aimed at?

All pupils.


Head of Subject

Anna Norman anorman@millbayacademy.org

Extra Curricular Options and Enrichment

Opportunities for extracurricular and enrichment activities include:

Over the next two years, we are going to encourage students to read as widely as possible.

This list is not intended to prevent students from choosing your own reading material, but rather to introduce you to a range of books that have been celebrated and enjoyed by people of their age over the years.

GCSE SUGGESTED READING LIST

  • 1984 – George Orwell
  • A Farewell to Arms – Ernest Hemingway
  • Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Anita and Me – Meera Syal
  • Atonement – Ian McEwen
  • Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
  • The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
  • The Color Purple – Alice Walker
  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
  • Great Expectations– Charles Dickens
  • The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gillman
  • Dracula – Bram Stoker
  • Fever Pitch – Nick Hornby
  • Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
  • The Great Gatsby – F.Scott Fitzgerlad
  • Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
  • Junk – Melvin Burgess
  • Life of Pi – Yann Martel
  • Lord of the Flies – William Golding
  • Noughts and Crosses – Malorie Blackman
  • Notes from a Small Island – Bill Bryson
  • Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
  • Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
  • The Road – Cormac McCarthy
  • Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafón
  • The Shining – Stephen King
  • The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Robert Lewis Stevenson
  • To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
  • Touching the Void – Joe Simpson
  • Dubliners – James Joyce
  • The War of the Worlds – H.G. Wells
  • The Wasp Factory – Ian Banks
  • White Teeth – Zadie Smith
  • Woman in Black – Susan Hill
  • Any Shakespeare play or collection of sonnets
  • Poetry [Rudyard Kipling, William Blake, Dylan Thomas, Seamus Heaney, Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, Carol Ann Duffy, Christina Rossetti, Robert Browning, Simon Armitage, Grace Nichols, John Betjeman, Ted Hughes, Gillian Clarke]



Possible careers opportunities

There's a lot more to English than the words we speak. To learn the rules of spelling, punctuation & grammar, and to construct a sentence on a page, takes everyone a lot of time, study and patience.

Employers say that one of the most valuable things they look for in the people who work for them is good communication skills and this means writing and presentation as well as talking.

Studying English literature helps to sharpen your analytical skills. If you can take a text and find the themes plus connect it with other texts, theories and historical events, you are showing that you can handle complex ideas, search for patterns and interpret information in a wider context. You will also develop your planning and research skills as well as gain knowledge of history, culture, philosophy and even human behaviour.

English is good for any job that involves communication, writing and / or literary knowledge. These include: advertising and marketing, writing and journalism, law, consultancy, business, teaching, performing arts, academia, politics, linguistics, foreign languages, media and design. You could even be a freelance writer, which we think is one of the world's best jobs!

Careers in the sciences, engineering, technology and maths also need more English than you think. Writing proposals, academic papers & articles and communicating with others is key to getting funding for projects and reaching people.