Autumn 1: Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers

Autumn 2: Tough Guys (Have Feelings Too) by Keith Negley and Every Child a Song by Nicola Davies

Spring 1: Everything and Everywhere by Marc Martin

Spring 2: The Extraordinary Gardener by Sam Boughton

Summer 1: A-Z of Endangered Animals by Jennifer Cossins

Summer 2: A River by Marc Martin

Autumn 1: The Magic Bed by John Birmingham

Autumn 2: Stanley’s Stick by John Hegley

Spring 1: Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers

Spring 2: The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett

Summer 1: Beegu by Alexis Deacon

Summer 2: Astro Girl by Ken Wilson-Max

Autumn 1: The Great Fire of London by Emma Adams 

Autumn 2: The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield

Spring 1: Leo and the Octopus by Isabelle Marinov

Spring 2: The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward

Summer 1: Wolves by Emily Gravett

Summer 2: We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

Autumn 1: The First Drawing by Mordicai Gerstein

Autumn 2: Oliver and the Seawigs by Philip Reeve

Spring 1: The Tin Forest by Helen Ward

Spring 2: Cloud Tea Monkeys by Elspeth Graham and Mal Peet

Summer 1: Escape from Pompeii by Christina Balit

Summer 2: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg

Autumn 1: Varjak Paw by S. F. Said

Autumn 2: The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

Spring 1: Varmints by Helen Ward

Spring 2: The Baker by the Sea by Paula White

Summer 1: Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman

Summer 2: The Story of Tutankhamun by Patricia Cleveland-Peck

Autumn 1: Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill 

Autumn 2: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Spring 1: Freedom Bird by Jerdine Nolen

Spring 2: Cosmic by Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Summer 1: Titanic Detective Agency by Lyndsay Littleson

Summer 2: Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins

Autumn 1: Pax by Sara Pennypacker 

Autumn 2: The Promise by Nicola Davies

Spring 1: Pig-Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman

Spring 2: The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Summer 1: Windrush Child by Benjamin Zephaniah

Summer 2: Suffragette: The Battle for Equality by David Roberts

Autumn 1: Boy 87 by Ele Fountain 

Autumn 2: Introduction to Gothic Literature

Spring 1: Nature and the Environment Poetry Anthology

Spring 2: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

Summer 1: Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Summer 2: Non-fiction Spoken Language

Autumn 1: Animal Farm by George Orwell 

Autumn 2: Gothic Extracts 

Spring 1: Poetry from World War One

Spring 2: The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

Summer 1: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Summer 2: Non-fiction Spoken Language

Autumn 1: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Autumn 2: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Spring 1: Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl

Spring 2: Creative Reading and Writing

Summer 1: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Summer 2: Non-fiction Spoken Language

Awarding Body – AQA

Specification Code – 8700

Tiers – all candidates sit the same level of qualification

Pupils should:

• read fluently, and with good understanding, a wide range of texts from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, including literature and literary non-fiction as well as other writing such as reviews and journalism
• read and evaluate texts critically and make comparisons between texts
• summarise and synthesise information or ideas from texts
• use knowledge gained from wide reading to inform and improve their own writing
• write effectively and coherently using Standard English appropriately
• use grammar correctly and 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
• listen to and understand spoken language and use spoken Standard English effectively.

Pupil’s learning will be examined in three assessments:

Paper One – Explorations in Creative Writing and Writing

Section A – Reading – one literature fiction text
Four questions worth 4, 8, 8 and 20 marks

Section B – Writing – descriptive or narrative writing
One question worth 24 marks for content and 16 marks for technical accuracy

Paper Two – Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives

Section A – Reading – one non-fiction text and one literary non-fiction text
Four questions worth 4, 8, 12 and 16 marks

Section B – Writing – writing to present a viewpoint
One question worth 24 marks for content and 16 marks for technical accuracy

Each paper lasts for 1h 45mins, and each makes up 50% of the overall grade awarded.

Non-Examination Assessment – Spoken English

• Presenting
• Responding to questions and feedback
• Use of Standard English

This is assessed through work set by the teacher throughout the course, and is marked by the teacher.

Whilst this does not carry any weight for the overall GCSE grade awarded, it does need to be completed and it will be separately endorsed on the pupil’s result as either Pass, Merit or Distinction.

Awarding Body – AQA

Specification Code – 8702

Tiers – all candidates sit the same level of qualification

Pupils will need to develop skills in:

Reading comprehension and reading critically

• literal and inferential comprehension
  • understanding a word, phrase or sentence in context
  • exploring aspects of plot, characterisation, events and settings
  • distinguishing between what is stated explicitly and what is implied
  • explaining motivation, sequence of events, and the relationship between actions or events
• critical reading
  • identifying the theme and distinguishing between themes
  • supporting a point of view by referring to evidence in the text
  • recognising the possibility of and evaluating different responses to a text
  • using understanding of writers’ social, historical and cultural contexts to inform evaluation
  • making an informed personal response that derives from analysis and evaluation of the text
• evaluation of a writer’s choice of vocabulary, grammatical and structural features
  • analysing and evaluating how language, structure, form and presentation contribute to quality and impact
  • using linguistic and literary terminology for such evaluation
• comparing texts
  • comparing and contrasting texts studied, referring where relevant to theme, characterisation, context (where known), style and literary quality
  • comparing two texts critically with respect to the above

Writing

• producing clear and coherent text
  • writing effectively about literature for a range of purposes such as to describe, explain, summarise, argue, analyse and evaluate
  • discussing and maintaining a point of view
  • selecting and emphasising key points
  • using relevant quotation and using detailed textual references
• accurate Standard English
  • accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Pupil’s learning will be examined in two assessments:

Paper One – Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel

Section A – Shakespeare – one question on their play of choice (Chetwynde currently teaches Romeo and Juliet); pupils will be required to write in detail about an extract from the play and then to write about the play as a whole

Section B – The 19th-century novel – one question on their novel of choice (Chetwynde currently teaches The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde); pupils will be required to write in detail about an extract from the novel and then to write about the novel as a whole

This paper lasts for 1h 45mins and makes up 40% of the overall grade awarded

Paper Two – Modern Texts and Poetry

Section A – Modern Texts – one essay question from a choice of two on their studied modern prose or drama text (Chetwynde currently teaches An Inspector Calls)

Section B – Poetry – one comparative question on one named poem printed on the paper and one other poem from their chosen anthology cluster (Chetwynde currently teaches the Love and Relationships anthology)

Section C – Unseen Poetry – one question on one unseen poem and one question comparing this poem with a second unseen poem

This paper lasts for 2h 15mins, and makes up 60% of the overall grade awarded.