1. GCSE English Qualifications at Brighouse High School
There are two main GCSE courses on offer in the English department at Brighouse High School: English Language and English Literature. They are both linear, exam-only and, as reformed GCSEs, graded 9-1.
The exam board used for both options is WJEC.

2. GCSE English Language
Component 1: 20th Century Literature Reading and Creative Prose Writing.
Written Examination: 1 hour 45 minutes.
40% of qualification.
Section A (20%) – Reading
This section will test the understanding of one, unseen extract (about lines) from one 20th century literary prose text through a range of structured questions.
Section B (20%) – Prose Writing
This section will test creative prose writing through one 40-mark task. Candidates will be offered a choice of four titles, giving opportunities for writing to describe and narrate, and imaginative and creative use of language.

3. GCSE English Language
Component 2: 19th and 21st Century Non-Fiction Reading and Transactional/Persuasive Writing.
Written examination: 2 hours
60% of qualification
Section A (30%) – Reading
This section will test, through structured questioning, the reading of two high-quality, unseen non-fiction texts (about words in total), one from the 19th Century, the other from the 21st century. Non-fiction texts may include, but will not be limited to: letters, extracts from autobiographies and biographies, diaries, reports, articles and digital and multi-modal texts of various kinds from newspapers and magazines, and the internet.
Section B (30%) – Writing
This section will test transactional, persuasive and/or discursive writing through two equally-weighted compulsory tasks. Across the two tasks candidates will be offered opportunities to write for a range of audiences and purposes, adapting style to form and to real-life contexts in, for example, letters, articles, reviews and speeches.

4. GCSE English Language Component 3: Spoken Language Non-exam assessment
Unweighted
Candidates will be required to complete one presentation/speech, including responses to questions and feedback. Achievement in Spoken Language will be reported as part of the qualification, but it will not form part of the final mark and grade.

5. GCSE English Literature
Component 1: Shakespeare and Poetry
Written examination: 2 hours (closed book)
40% of qualification
Section A (20%) – Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet; OR Macbeth; OR Othello: OR Much Ado About Nothing: OR Henry V; OR The Merchant of Venice.
This assessment will test, through one extract-based question and one essay-based question on the text as a whole, knowledge and understanding of a Shakespeare text. Students will be expected to comment on Shakespeare’s use of language, structure and form and show an understanding of key themes, characters and ideas within the text. This section will also test for spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Section B (20%) Poetry from 1789 to the present day
This assessment will test knowledge and understanding of poetry from 1789 to the present day. Students will be assessed on two poems from the WJEC Eduqas Poetry Anthology. In the first question, students will be asked to write about a specified poem. In the second question, students will be asked to write about a second poem chosen from the WJEC Eduqas Poetry Anthology, and compare it to the first.

6. GCSE English Literature
Component 2: Post-1914 Prose/Drama, 19th Century Prose and Unseen Poetry
Written examination: 2 hours and 30 minutes (closed book)
60% of qualification
Section A (20%) Post-1914 Prose/Drama
Lord of the Flies (Golding); OR Anita and Me (Syal); OR An Inspector Calls (Priestley); OR Blood Brothers (Russell); OR Never Let Me Go (Ishiguro).
This assessment will test, through a source-based response, knowledge an understanding of a post 1914 prose/drama text. Students will be expected to comment on the writer’s use of language, structure and form and show an understanding of key themes, characters and ideas within the text. This section will also test for spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Section B (20%) – 19th Century Prose
A Christmas Carol (Dickens); OR War of the Worlds(Wells); OR Pride and Prejudice (Austen); OR Jane Eyre (Bronte); OR The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Stevenson).
This assessment will test, through a source-based response, knowledge and understanding of a 19th century prose novel. Students will be expected to comment upon the language, structure and form of the text and key themes, characters and ideas within the text.
Section C (20%) – Unseen Poetry from the 20th/21st Century
This assessment will test understanding of two unseen poems from the 20th and/or 21st centuries. In the first question, students will be asked to write about a previously unseen poem. In the second question, students will be asked to write about a second previously unseen poem, and compare it to the first.

7. English at BHS
The current policy regarding examination entries in the English department at Brighouse High School sees the English Language GCSE being completed in Y10, with a possibility to resit the qualification the following summer of Y11. The student will always keep their best grade.
The English Literature GCSE qualification is completed in Y11, with no current resit opportunity.

8. English at BHS Further resources
Please use the following links to access the WJEC specifications for English Language and English Literature:
English Language GCSE
English Literature GCSE
The above links also allow access to specimen assessment materials, including exemplar question papers and mark schemes.