First world problem: secondary extension/enrichment work in English GCSE

[Greattimestroubledtimes]

And does this exist, and do people have examples of it working well?

DD is good at English, and her head of subject has basically told her that the GCSE is not very challenging for someone like her.

Now if this were maths, she'd be doing Further Maths GCSE, or Maths Olympiads, and there would be trips to unis etc. But she's basically been told, sorry, that's just the way it is.

And yes, I can and do suggest books to challenge her but this doesn't make lessons any less dull, and frankly as this is a private school I would have thought that they could at least do that.

Apologies if this is not entirely coherent but I am at the tail end of covid and consecutive thought still eludes me

Oh, and she's Yr10 so we have another 15 months of this

Author talks, theatre workshops (ie RSC) , lectures, essay competitions, online courses, running English or Creative Writing societies and related magazines. Is it literature or language which is her strength?

Both, although she's particularly interested in language and linguistics at the moment (reading adult level popular books on it) and so thinking of E Language for A Level. And she does drama.

She does do creative writing club, but there are no author talks or workshops for English. And none of this solves another year of classes which are very much geared towards just passing a rather dull exam.

I didn't realise how skewed towards science the school was when we chose it, not that we knew it would matter so much in Yr7 as she was more of an all-rounder then.

Assume she is reading around her set texts?

Yes, and more. This half term I got her to read some Tony Harrison poetry, Patricia Lockwood (loved it), a v short Thomas Pynchon and she's now working her way happily through AS Byatt Possession. She's read about six+ linguistics books since Christmas. Which is why I am so sad that school aren't doing more because she'd be an absolute sponge for anything they suggested - she loves her Head of English, whereas I, obviously, am a dinosaur mother with dubious tastes.

But they take almost a term to get through one set text and so there is only so much you can do around this. And I really need them to be suggesting this.

Can she take her English GCSE early? I did this.

My dd is the same but they don’t seem to have an issue challenging her in her lessons, they can make the work they set her as complex as they like, there’s no upper limit. It’s just a matter of the teachers being inclined to do so.

Mock Trial competitions?

smartlaw.org.uk/mock-trials/bar-mock-trials-teachers-2/

But they take almost a term to get through one set text
I was at school in the 70's and it was like that then. It used to drive me absolutely round the bend. I just wanted to read the thing from beginning to end and be done with it!

Has she read the book by Melvyn Bragg called 'The Adventure of English'? She might like that.

@Innocenta So did I. Not an option these days, sadly. And why is there no Further English GCSE?

@Fernandina You are spot on because that was one of her Christmas presents. She's now working her way through David Crystal and Steven Pinker books on language.

@Comefromaway Mock trials might be interesting though - I have to talk to her English teacher in the next week or so anyway as he is head of year, so will mention that to him.

Check out theatres within travelling distance. See as many plays as possible. It’s a totally different experience to reading plays.

Pick a theme that she’s interested in like the romantics and have her read around the topic as well as reading the poetry.

www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-romantics

Whatever her set text is, look at complementary reading. For 19th century works that might be looking at the social history of the period or the trends (like Spiritualism). It could be reading works by contemporaries of the author or looking at other works by the same author. It could even be looking up old newspaper editions to get an idea of the attitude and language of the time.

How about doing an HPQ?

www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/projects/project-qualifications/PQ2-7992

There's no Further English because even if the set texts aren't particularly challenging for a given student, the exams are not necessarily easy - the skills of time management etc still need to be honed. And unlike in Maths where a very bright student might rattle through the paper in half the time and get full marks, an essay question for English can be answered in as much depth as you want. OK after a certain point it's not getting any more marks but there's nothing stopping a student writing an A-level style response to a GCSE question as such. You could write a Phd about a picture book so it's not the level of the text being studied that holds you back. The best thing is just to read widely, use the English lessons to polish an academic writing style and to study the wider historical and social context of texts which is never wasted.

*Pick a theme that she’s interested in like the romantics and have her read around the topic as well as reading the poetry.

www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-romantics

Whatever her set text is, look at complementary reading. For 19th century works that might be looking at the social history of the period or the trends (like Spiritualism). It could be reading works by contemporaries of the author or looking at other works by the same author. It could even be looking up old newspaper editions to get an idea of the attitude and language of the time.*

Ah, now this is something I could suggest to school.

Because we do do the theatre and as I said above, I am extending her reading (I read English at Uni, so I can do this) but really I want school to be doing more and for her to be extended more in lessons/school time.

She has a - righteous - aversion to extension work outside the lesson after primary school where she learned that being bright = additional work and she's quite keen on just lounging around listening to podcasts

If she’s finished her work, she could just read. Her teacher should at least be able to give her a decent book list.

Agree with thematic approach, also looking for historical and cultural context ie. Poor law, women's rights, first world war, industrial revolution etc as relevant to the period/text/author. If she enjoys linguistics is she taking mfl and/or classics?

If you are near London, the Southbank centre, National Theatre et al are good for talks and workshops

Our (state) school have a booklet of ideas for kids who are strong in English - it includes recommended reading; details of writing competitions; various tasks (eg watching the film of a book and doing analysis of differences); creative writing tasks … - I can photograph some pages if you like? It’s more lit than language based (my daughter loves linguistics and language construction through a foreign language lends and it’s less relevant to that) but had some nice inspiration points (kids get points based on any tasks they do at our school but it’s all optional)

@Ncwinc. Yes I think even a book list would be a start...

@LIZS Yes, MFL. No option to do two sadly, as she would rather be doing double science and one extra arts subject but that wasn't an option.

@Isthisjustnormal that sounds good, but only if not too much trouble!

These are set texts options used for GSCE

Modern prose texts for GCSE
Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin | Edexcel
Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman | Edexcel
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe | CCEA
Lord of the Flies by William Golding | AQA | CCEA | Edexcel | Eduqas | WJEC
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene | CCEA
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee | CCEA | WJEC
Animal Farm by George Orwell | AQA | CCEA | Edexcel OCR
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck | CCEA | WJEC
Anita & Me by Meera Syal | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas | WJEC
Woman in Black by Susan Hill | Edexcel | Eduqas
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro | AQA | OCR | WJEC | Eduqas
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle | WJEC | CCEA
Heroes by Robert Cormier | WJEC
About a Boy by Nick Hornby | WJEC | CCEA
Resistance by Owen Sheers | WJEC
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou | WJEC
Ash on a Young Man’s Sleeve by Danni Abse | WJEC
Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson | Eduqas
How Many Miles to Babylon? by Jennifer Johnston | CCEA
Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman | AQA
Chanda’s Secrets by Allan Stratton | WJEC

Additional modern prose
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka
Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
Boy meets Boy by David Levithan
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess
The Lonely Londoners by San Selvon
You’re Not Proper by Tariq Mehmood
Native Son by Richard Wright
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
Homefire by Kamila Shamsie
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
A House for Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul
Face by Benjamin Zephaniah
I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill
Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D Jackson
Internment by Samira Ahmed
On the come up by Angie Thomas
Indigo Donut by Patrice Lawrence
Killing Honour by Bali Rai
Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker
Anita and me Meera Syal
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
The Girl in the Broken Mirror by Savita Kalhan
Darkness Falling by Patrick MacDonald

Interesting. Hers is iGCSE, and the set texts are as follows:

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Purple Hibiscus
Charles Dickens Great Expectations
Daphne du Maurier Rebecca
Henry James Washington Square
Jhumpa Lahiri The Namesake
Joan Lindsay Picnic at Hanging Rock
Yann Martel Life of Pi
Lynn Nottage Crumbs from the Table of Joy
R C Sherriff Journey’s End
Wole Soyinka Death and the King’s Horseman
William Shakespeare Twelfth Night
William Shakespeare Othello

And there is an extensive selection of poetry including Shelley, James Joyce, Margaret Attwood and Stevie Smith.

There are other categories too (below) but I posted it as it’s also a quick reading list!

schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/gcse/

Is she's doing IGCSE that suggests private school... I'd be asking them for more!

Listening to podcasts is fine enough though.

For linguistics, try Analysing Sentences by Noel Burton-Roberts, more or less anything by Noam Chomsky (and can wander off into politics too!) and The Language Instinct by Stephen Pinker

Read the novels of David Lodge, particularly Changing Places, Small World and Nice Work. If interested in literary criticism, also try The Art of Fiction

Also attack the canon of works that will really deepen knowledge of the whole scope - this really should include:

• the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, for the language and allusions (I'm not suggesting thus to promote religion).
• some familiarity with Chaucer (try The Parliament of Fowls rather than tackling the Canterbury Tales) and Shakespeare, of course (take your pick - one tragedy, one comedy, one Roman, one British history)
• Restoration poetry- Herrick and Marvell
• early novel - maybe Moll Flanders or Robinson Crusoe by Defoe, or Gullivers Travels by Swift
• selection of Romantic poetry (Byron, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats)
• fantasy - Frankenstein and Dracula
• big Victorian novel, I prefer Vanity Fair by Thackeray to Dickens
• Victorian poets - take your pick! Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christine Rossetti?
• The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde
• poetry of Sylvia Plath, also The Bell Jar

-Testament of Youth by Vera Britten, a selection of poetry.

Won't go in to more recent, because of the comprehensive list above!

Now there's no way she could tackle all that, but it might give ideas!

Also go to the theatre, look for film adaptations, and free online courses such as those offered by Future Learn

@Hercisback Yes, that's what I was trying to say in my mildly incoherent first post. We do loads of stuff with her, but even a booklist would be a start from school.

And I still think it's not quite right that there are more challenges for maths; it doesn't take her a term to get her head round a book, or creative writing, so can't they do something else as well.

And while I agree about podcasts, people talking about people talking about Dungeons and Dragons seems to be both pointless and endless

@AuntieStella. This entire thread is justified by the Noel Burton Roberts recommendation. Thank you, she will love that - already on Steven Pinker will try and pick out some Chomsky.

Rest of the list also good, except I tried to re-read Testament of Youth for work reasons last year and my she has no sense of humour at all and I much preferred Winifred Holtby's letters.

And we do go to the theatre as much as our part of the far west allows - RSC, everything by Wise Children, going to Jerusalem this summer, and as many telecasts as there are locally