The Key Stage 4 English curriculum at William Ellis School
We follow the OCR syllabus for English literature and have moved to the AQA English language for examination in 2024/25. Further detail on these syllabuses can be found in the GCSE examination section. We have chosen to interweave work on the literature units with work in preparation for the English language exams. English language also includes a compulsory speaking and listening unit that has no mark value but is a requirement for any pass grade in GCSE English language. This small unit is usually completed in the summer term of Year 10.
The texts studied for English literature are listed in the order in which they are usually completed first time round, though language work with a thematic link is embedded, and separate language units are also completed across the two GCSE years.
Modern drama: currently J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls
19th century prose: Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations (all of current Year 11)
Shakespearean drama: Romeo and Juliet
Poetry: the ‘Love and Relationships’ cluster from the OCR Anthology of modern and classic poems, Towards a World Unknown
Important department-made guides -
For Year 10 and Year 11:
• A guide to the An Inspector Calls exam for OCR
• A guide to the Great Expectations exam for OCR
• A revision pack for GCSE study of Romeo and Juliet
• The WES AQA English language handbook