The current grade 9 -1 English GCSEs in Language and Literature are considerably more demanding than their previous equivalents.
There is no need to worry, however. Our qualified teachers are here to help. Whether your child needs assistance with comprehension, writing, poetry, prose or drama, we can really make a difference.
Contact us to organise your free assessment and let’s get started. Please scroll down to see our useful links for English GCSE.
Useful links
If your poetry anthology is causing you angst, take a look at this page, which explains it all really clearly. From Chaucer to Frost to Dryden and Duffy, the BBC have every poem covered with clear explanations. There’s nothing like a bit of live poetry to get you in the mood for some serious study, so check out this website for live poetry events with Grace Nichols, Jackie Kay, Simon Armitage and more.
Spelling, punctuation and grammar make up far more of the marks in the current GCSE so it’s important that punctuation is polished, spelling is accurate and grammar is correct. It’s surprising how many marks a few missed apostrophes or a misplaced homophone can lose, so visit this website for a quick masterclass in the main mistakes young people tend to make.
Comprehension is all about finding facts, ideas and opinions in the text, including those which are implicit (so you have to read between the lines), being able to recognise features of the writers’ style and devices used for effect (e.g. metaphors) and being able to organise all of this into a clear and concise analysis on paper which answers the question being asked. It’s quite a tall order!
Writing will involve writing creatively (description or narrative) as well as writing to present a viewpoint (this will include aspects of writing to explain, advise, argue and persuade).English Biz has pretty comprehensive guides to all types of GCSE writing and some ideas for practice.
