"My Name is Leon" as an English Lit GCSE book

[Lindy2]

Has anyone else's child studied "My Name is Leon" for their English Literature GCSE?

My child's school looks like they will be doing this book for the first time.

I'm a bit nervous because no one else seems to do it and the teachers haven't taught this before. There's also no study aids like there are for the more usual choices such as "An Inspector Calls" etc.

It's quite a good performing school and it's likely to just be top set doing it.

Does anyone have any experience of their child doing this book or teaching it, or have any views?

My DD studied this book in year 9 I think. There was a lot of upset as some of the themes upset quite a few children.
Abuse, drugs and fostering. Several of DDs friends are adopted and really struggled with this text. I believe the school made the decision to change texts after this.

It was only introduced to the syllabus for exams this year so not many schools will have picked it up – hence a lack of study guides. It does make it a tough choice tbh but it looks like an interesting one (I don't know the book) – it's good to see another book on there that is not by a white man tbh. Not that that helps your DC especially.

My main subject is MFL and I must admit I am guilty of choosing the popular books for A level. But actually I am impressed with the school for striking out on a different tack. I love An Inpsector Calls but every school seems to do it.

DD was the first year of the current English spec and she did Frankenstein and Animal Farm; others in her year did A Taste of Honey which is also less often done, and they all did well. Hopefully the book will spark some interesting discussions. And over the next couple of years I would expect there to be, if not study guides, at least some online support forthcoming on the text.

I’ve read the book recently and think it would make a great choice. But I can see your concerns regarding study guides - but lots of great themes to get stuck into.

My book club had this as a choice a few months back. It is a pretty straightforward read, and I’m sure there will be a few on line lists of themes to consider. I’m surprised it is a GCSE script as there is nothing challenging about it.

Thanks all.

I didn't realise it had only just been added to the GCSE syllabus. I'm a bit surprised at the school. They generally stick with what they've been doing for decades and what they know works. This is rather adventurous for them to be honest.

The lack of past questions to revise with is not great and I'm a bit unsure about DD's class being guinea pigs but I guess I'll just have to trust the school. I've not got much choice really.

@Astrabees remember that GCSE texts have to be accessible to some degree for those who will gain a grade 1 as well as those looking for grade 9 as there is no tiering. Themes about fostering, child protection, story told through the eyes of a child all look interesting. I personally think that Jekyll and Hyde, which my DD studied for her Eng lit degree, is far too challenging and yet that is often chosen as the Victorian text.

@Lindy2 by the time your DD takes her exams in 2027 (I'm assuming here they are year 10 rn) there will be some past-paper questions from this year and next year. This teaching tutorial session includes an interview with the author which is after all not something you can find for Animal Farm or AIC. It's intended for teachers but worth a watch I think.

ETA: meant to say that none of the GCSE texts have been studied by any school for decades tbf; the current spec only came into being a few years ago with first exams in 2017.
https://www.aqa.org.uk/resources/english/gcse/english-literature-8702/teach/teaching-guide-my-name-is-leon-spark-conversation-event

Thanks @clary . That's interesting.

Yes, she's year 10 so not sitting the exam until 2027.

My dd is yr 11 and doing this text. I read the book too and really enjoyed it. I thought there was a lot to talk about. There’s a film of it too (perhaps we watched it on YouTube?) and my ds10 enjoyed it too (though obviously he didn’t get a big picture view of it).

@Just2MoreSeasons Thank you. It's good to know that you thought the book was good.

Honestly-have a read yourself. Only took me two or three days. Inspired a lot of conversation in our house. It was surprising to me that dd knew so many kids at school who are fostered and so naturally she talked about these kids too and their behaviours at school and what kind of experiences they might have had.

Yes, my daughter studied it for her GCSE English Literature. She found this study guide useful: https://amzn.eu/d/fkBaStp
Hope this helps.