13th Jan 2022
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Year 10 have now completed both their first NEA piece on Macbeth and their first attempt at the Unit 1 external GCSE exam. I would like to thank you on behalf of the English & Literacy Area for your support of both us as a Learning Area and your child during this important year.
English sets have been reorganised from today in order to ensure pupils are in the correct groups for the GCSE English Literature course. There will be some readjustments following the second NEA/Unit 1 exam results after Half Term in March. Groups will be monitored closely throughout the remainder of the year to make sure pupils are in the right place for their ability/current working grade/target grade.
There are two tiers in English Literature GCSE, both of which allow pupils to gain a C grade:
Higher Tier: A* – D
Foundation Tier: C- G
Decisions on which tier your child sits for the summer exam will be made later this term, based on their class and homework and NEA marks and performance in yesterday’s GCSE external exam..
There are a few important dates in the rest of the year for which we would like your particular support:
1)
Tuesday 1st February 2021 P5 & 6 – English Literature GCSE Written Coursework (NEA): Poetry Comparison: Session 1
Tuesday 15th February 2021 P5 & 6 – English Literature GCSE Written Coursework (NEA): Poetry Comparison: Session 2
Pupils will be prepared for these tasks in class and as homework but they need to be completed under exam conditions. Each session lasts 1 hour.
These will contribute towards the final GCSE English Literature grade and, along with the Macbeth NEA, are worth 25%. It is essential, therefore, that your child prepares thoroughly for these tasks and attends promptly.
2)
Mon 28.2.22 P 1, 2 & Tutorial – Unit 1 PPE – mock exam.
3)
Thurs 10.3.22 – Unit 1 results of external exam sat on Tues 11.1.22
4)
Wed 25.5.22 AM – Resit Unit 1 exam (external)
This is the final opportunity for pupils to improve/gain their GCSE English Literature qualification, as a resit in Yr 11 would involve 2 new pieces of coursework, with different titles/texts. There will be no teaching time on English Literature from May 25.5.22 onwards, as pupils will move on to study GCSE English Language.
I would like to close by asking you to encourage your child to do their very best in all classwork, homework, NEA tasks and mock exams – PPEs. For the past two years, these have formed the basis of the GCSE grades awarded to students in lieu of external exams. While we sincerely hope this will not be the case this year in 2022, we cannot rule it out as a possibility.
Thank you in anticipation of your support this year,
Mrs L. Taylor
Raising Standards Leader: English & Literacy
