Year 10 – WJEC English Literature

All pupils will follow a course in GCSE English Literature. Pupils’ interest in literature will be extended as they develop an understanding of the ways in which literature is rich and influential.

Pupils will study a range of set texts, including:

Two whole prose texts, e.g. ‘Of Mice and Men’, ‘Heroes’, ‘Lord of the Flies’
Two plays, including a Shakespeare play
Contemporary unseen poems and poetry from an anthology of Welsh poetry, ‘Poetry 1900-2000: One Hundred Poets from Wales’.

Year 10

During their study of GCSE English literature, students will be able to:

Understand that texts from the English, Welsh or Irish literary heritage have been influential and significant over time and explore their meaning today
Explore how texts from different cultures and traditions may reflect or influence values, assumptions and sense of identity
Connect ideas, themes and issues, drawing on a range of texts
Become critical readers of fiction and non-fiction prose, poetry and drama
Analyse the impact of style, language, structure and form
Experience different times, cultures, viewpoints and situations as found in literary texts.
Foster an appreciation of Wales’ cultural heritage through the study of Welsh writing in English.

Year 11 – WJEC English Language

This subject promotes an integrated approach to oracy, reading and writing. All examination texts will be ‘unseen’. Primarily, the course focuses on the functional aspects of language, that is providing pupils with the skills and abilities they need to take active and responsible roles in their communities, everyday life, the workplace and in educational settings.

Having successfully completed their GCSE English Literature qualification, students will develop their ability to interpret and use the English language. They will:

Demonstrate skills in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing necessary to communicate with others confidently, effectively, precisely and appropriately
Access and retrieve information from a wide range of texts, forming a broad understanding, summarising and synthesising content, inferring meaning and evaluating its purpose
Understand the patterns, structures and conventions of language
Understand the impact of variations in language, selecting and adapting speech and writing to different situations, purposes and audiences
Develop their verbal reasoning and their ability to think constructively and critically
Develop their proofreading and editing skills.

Career

Progression following this course. What’s next?

Most sixth forms, colleges and employers require pupils to have achieved at least a C grade in this subject, which also forms part of the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification; a B grade is required for teaching courses. There are a range of A Level courses available, including A Level English Literature, English Language and English Language and Literature. Studying English at A Level is highly regarded by employers and universities, which can lead to a wide range of courses, including: English Literature, English Language, Creative Writing, Journalism, Media, Broadcasting, Law, Teaching, Advertising, Marketing, Communication Studies, Film Studies, Publishing, Medicine and many others.

Future career opportunities

Teaching and Lecturing
Law
Journalism, Broadcasting, TV/Film Production
Editing, Publishing, Writing
Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations

WJEC French

You will be assessed in four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing. They are equally weighted, each skills is worth 25% of your final GCSE grade.

The course is divided into three themes – Identity and Culture, Wales and the World and Current and Future Study and Employment. Within each theme there are several sub-themes as shown below.

The study of a language will broaden horizons, develop cultural knowledge and understanding and foster transferable skills such as confidence, communication, problem solving and creativity.

Future career opportunities

As well as specialist language options such as teaching, translating and interpreting, people who can speak other languages are employed within the following areas :

Creative and Media
Engineering
Event Management
Law
Health, Medicine and Social Care
Manufacturing
Retail/Marketing
Technology and Computer Gaming
Travel and Tourism

WJEC Welsh

At GCSE level, pupils study the Welsh GCSE course with the GCSE Welsh Second Language specification enabling learners to understand and use the language for a variety of purposes and audiences. It will develop learner’s language learning skills and strategies in order to enable them to communicate and interact confidently and spontaneously in relevant situations and specified

This GCSE specification in Welsh second language will enable candidates to:

understand and use the language for a variety of purposes and audiences
develop language learning skills and strategies in order to enable candidates to communicate and interact confidently and spontaneously in relevant situations and specified context
develop language learning skills and strategies to enable candidates to develop their grasp Welsh further
develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in an integrated manner, emphasising listening and speaking skills
use Welsh in further studies, in the workplace and in their communities
develop curiosity about the Welsh language.

The context for learning the language is organised under three broad themes:

EMPLOYMENT
WALES AND THE WORLD
YOUTH

This qualification has two external assessment units which are weighted equally and two internal assessment units. The two external assessment units test reading and writing skills while the two internal assessment units test oral and listening skills.

This specification builds on subject content which is typically taught at Key Stage 3 and provides a suitable foundation for the study of Welsh second language at either AS or A level. In addition, the specification provides a coherent, satisfying and worthwhile course of study for candidates who do not progress to further study in this subject.

Literacy, Language and Communication GCSE qualifications offered

Year 10 – WJEC English Literature

Year 11 – WJEC English Language

Career

WJEC French

GCSE course specification information

Useful Welsh websites – Key stage 4

Useful Learning Welsh websites