1. Information for Y11 parents 2015-16 Manor CE Academy English Department

2. Staff in the English team Mrs Bowes – Head of Department Ms Metcalf – 2 nd in Department (to Oct) Mrs Lowman – 2 nd in Department (Oct onwards) Mrs Brown, Ms Doherty, Mr Hugill, Mrs McGivern, Mrs Lowman, Miss Metcalf and Mrs Bowes – Y11 class teachers

3. Last summer’s English results English Language A-A* Manor 29.3% (National Average 14.6%) C-A* Manor 86% (National Average 65%) English Literature A-A* Manor 34.4% (National Average 21.7%) C-A* Manor 90% (National Average 75.6%)

4. Changes to the national picture for GCSE English November first entry is no longer permitted; all students must sit English for the first time in June of Y11. Speaking and Listening assessments – No longer part of the English Language GCSE. – Reported separately on students’ certificates.

5. The two English GCSE qualifications GCSE English Language 40% Controlled Assessment Of Mice and Men Creative Writing Spoken Language Study 60% Examination – Understanding and Producing Non-Fiction Texts + Speaking and Listening tasks GCSE English Literature 25% Controlled Assessment Shakespeare and one other text comparison 75% Examination “Of Mice and Men” and “An Inspector Calls” Poetry

6. Our Y11 plan Sept-OctNov - DecJan – FebMar – AprilMay – June Teaching the Non-Fiction exam skills Mock examination “An Inspector Calls” Poetry Beginning revision for all exams. Additional mock Revision for all exams. English Literature exams 23 rd and 27 th May 23 rd and 27 th May (Provisional) English Language exam 7 th June 7 th June (Provisional) Controlled Assessment resits will be spaced to avoid clashing with mock exam periods.

7. The English Language exam READING 3 non-fiction texts, which will be new to them. 4 questions, requiring Retrieval of information Analysis of presentational devices/language Inference and deduction Comparison WRITING 2 tasks A variety of different text types are set, such as Articles Letters Websites Leaflets Speeches

8. How can parents help? Encourage regular reading of quality non- fiction – leaflets, Metro, The i newspaper, Guardian, Times, Telegraph. (Online versions are free) Discuss the issues, audience and purpose in each text. How can you tell? Help students to make a manageable plan for re-reading their exam texts (January onwards). Encourage discussion of the texts. Encourage a high standard of Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)

9. Recommended revision resources Letts or York Notes – published GCSE revision guides. BBC Bitesize online SparkNotes online Avoid Wikipedia/Yahoo answers