Examination board

OCR English J350 and English Literature J360

Vision

English at UTC honours a special responsibility towards our young scientists: to ensure they have plenty of opportunities to experience and reflect upon the emotional, psychological, spiritual and cultural dimensions of human experience, areas which the natural sciences might not quite reach at times… We want to nourish and provoke young imaginations through a rich and varied exploration of the literary arts in drama, poetry and prose fiction. We seek to develop a depth and maturity of thought and understanding, and a real pleasure in the ways that art can enhance our experience of life.

English at UTC works hard to develop a range of skills that support the students’ scientific enquiry, particularly the focused investigations of the Challenge Projects: reading skills to enable effective research; speaking and listening skills to foster an agility of mind to enable clear communication in sustained collaborative work where probing, evaluating, summarizing, concluding, hypothesizing are all made possible; writing skills to enable succinct clarity, sharp analysis, crisp conclusion… as well as the descriptive, persuasive and imaginative writing we enjoy in our own subject area.

Beyond all, we hope to model and inspire a creative approach to whatever interests our students choose to pursue.

Course overview

We offer two GCSE’s: English and English Literature which are taught as a combined course over two years. For final assessment in 2016, each course comprises assessment by Controlled Assessment(CA) and Final Examination.

English

Reading Literary Texts (Shakespeare/Poetry/Prose) 20% (CA)
Imaginative Writing 20% (CA)
Speaking and Listening (CA) (this unit is taught and assessed but the marks are not counted towards the final grade)
Final Examination 60% (2 hours):
Reading non-fiction texts
Writing

English Literature

Literary Heritage Linked Texts (Shakespeare and Poetry) 25% (CA)
Final Examinations:
Modern Drama 25% (45 mins)
Prose from Different Cultures 25% (45 mins)
Literary Heritage Prose and Contemporary Poetry 25% (1 hour 30 mins)

An example programme might include:
Autumn: War Poetry, Wilfred Owen; Julius Caesar, Shakespeare; Speaking and Listening
Spring: Imaginative Writing; Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck; Speaking and Listening
Summer: Reading non-fiction texts; Writing to describe, persuade, explain
Autumn: Pride and Prejudice, Austen; reading non-fiction texts; writing to describe, persuade, explain
Spring: Educating Rita, Russell ; Poetry, Gillian Clarke

Resources

There are so many excellent sites to explore to support the study of literature and develop students’ vocabulary and general knowledge through exposure to current affairs programmes of many kinds. Again and again the BBC for history, literary and general interest topics; radio 4 programmes for all kinds of fascinating discussion and enquiry to extend students’ range of interests. Don’t forget Museum sites related to authors or the social/historical contexts of texts being studied. Film and theatre productions will also enliven students’ experience. For support with examination preparation BBC Bite size and the OCR web site are most helpful.