Key Stage 4 English Introduction for parents

Key Stage 4 English Two GCSEs taught as part of an integrated course ENGLISH LANGUAGE ENGLISH LITERATURE It is our policy to enter ALL students for both GCSEs unless exceptional circumstances apply

GCSE results 2013 English Language A* – C: 81% A* – G: 100% 31 % achieved A* - A English Literature A* – C: 92% A* – G: 100% 51 % achieved A* - A

GCSE English Language / English Literature All classes taught in mixed ability groups Two tiers of entry: Higher (A* - D) and Foundation (C – G) Decisions about entry taken in discussion with students All classes follow the same course though texts may differ depending on teacher choice

Controlled Assessments Some done in the Sports Hall, some in lessons They will be given the question in advance Preparation and planning done in class / homework One side of A4 notes allowed and clean copies of texts Plenty of time allowed Girls who qualify for extra time in exams also get extra time in CAs It is vital that all girls attend. If she is unwell or there is another exceptional circumstance meaning that she cannot attend, please let us know asap

GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNIT 1 (60% OF TOTAL MARKS) 2 hour exam: Section A: Reading – questions on articles and Section B: Writing – two writing tasks End of year practice exam – end of Yr 10 Mock exam: early December Year 11 Further practice exams in lessons after Christmas Year 11 Final exam: Summer of Year 11

GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNIT 3 (40% OF TOTAL MARKS) Written Controlled Assessment There are 3 pieces to complete (mainly done in Year 10) Part a: (15%) – Controlled Assessment on the Shakespeare play (Jan 2013) Part b: (15%) – Creative Writing (two assignments) (three done – use best two – one done in Year 9) Part c: (10%) – Spoken Language Study

Significant changes.. On 30 th August 2013, Ofqual announced that Unit 2 (20%) would no longer be included in the overall assessment of GCSE English Language Their grade for Speaking & Listening will be recorded separately (at present) We have no more information at present

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE UNIT 1 (40% OF TOTAL MARKS)1 ½ hour exam Section A: The Woman in Black (or An Inspector Calls) 20% Section B: Of Mice & Men 20% Texts studied in Year 10 Internal exam at end of Year 10 Texts re-visited in Year 11 Final exam: Summer 2013

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE UNIT 2 (35% OF TOTAL MARKS) 1 ½ hour exam taken at the end of Year 11 Section A: Shakespeare (30 marks) ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (studied in Year 10 – re-visited in Year 11) Section B: Prose text’ ‘The Withered Arm & other Wessex Tales’ (studied in Year 11 after Christmas) Mock exam: Easter of Year 11

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE UNIT 3 (25% OF TOTAL MARKS) Controlled Assessment – Poetry In Year 11 students will study a range of poems on two themes – Conflict & Relationships They must be a mixture of Literary Heritage (pre 1914) and Contemporary poems. We will select most of the poems from the AQA Anthology. Controlled Assessment: Autumn term of Year 11

ASSESSMENT All final tasks / exams / controlled assessments are awarded a BAND 1 – 5 (or 1 – 4) It is important to note that we are not told by the exam board how these correspond with grades Grade boundaries shifted significantly this summer Teachers will use their knowledge and discretion to inform the students about which grade A* - U they are working towards

For example Unit 3 Controlled Assessment Marked out of… Spoken Language essay 20 Shakespeare essay 30 Creative Writing (2 pieces) 30 TOTAL MARK: 80

ASSESSMENT All exams at the end of Year 11 Mock exams through the course Controlled Assessments marked and submitted through the course. Externally moderated – results published at the end of the course

OUTLINE OF COURSE: Year 10 Autumn term: Spoken Language Controlled Assessment Study Shakespeare play Unit 1 (Language) work through the term

OUTLINE OF COURSE: Year 10 Spring term: Shakespeare Controlled Assessment – mid January Study ‘culture’ novel for English Literature Unit 1 Begin study of second text for English Literature Unit 1 Work on English Language Unit 1 throughout

OUTLINE OF COURSE: Year 10 Summer term: Complete study of second text for English Literature Unit 1 Internal exam for Literature Unit 1 Internal exam for Language Unit 1 English Language Controlled Assessment Unit 3(b) – creative writing

Homework English on homework timetable virtually every lesson Unlikely to be set a different task to do each time Homeworks likely to be extended tasks with deadlines Recorded in planner

How you can help your daughter… Monitor her reading. It is important that she reads the novels (preferably more than once). Audio books available Get hold of appropriate study guides if possible (amazon / ebay..) Encourage her to read a range of articles / texts e.g. non-fiction books, articles from newspapers like The Guardian, The Times and periodicals e.g. National Geographic. Discuss these. Encourage her to look up or find out the meanings of words / phrases. Encourage her to read widely (fiction / non fiction). This will also help her spelling / vocabulary

How you can help your daughter… Support her in the build up to a Controlled Assessment – she will know the question and needs to plan and prepare independently. She can practise the task (but should avoid the temptation to learn it off by heart!) Help her to keep organised notes Take her to the theatre if possible Help her talk through the poems (Year 11) Learn key spellings

How you can help your daughter… Encourage her to make use of the material on Fronter and other relevant websites Powerpoints and study notes available on Fronter for students to work through (e.g. The Withered Arm, Shakespeare) Encourage her to avoid last minute revision – be prepared – do the reading well in advance and do regular exam practice Homework will be set regularly and may be an ‘on-going’ task – she will be asked to write this in her planner Language Unit 1 may have a strong homework focus – she should practise writing in different styles for different audiences e.g. writing letters!? Contact her English teacher with any query / concern

Monitoring and tracking All teachers are aware of individual FFT target grades and previous KS3 attainment Target grades are aspirational end of key stage targets NOT predictions We measure levels of progress regularly Data drops by teachers done regularly – we then compare current attainment with target grades and intervene if necessary Books and lessons scrutinised regularly We may run intervention sessions for targeted groups