AQA GCSE English Lit 2021 - Poetry now compulsory too.

[TheEmpressOfUtterBastardry]

I have just read the latest AQA updates which make clear their rewriting of the already rewritten spec for next year's English Lit GCSE. The poetry component will now also be compulsory, alongside the Shakespeare.

No such announcement from EDEXCEL or OCR yet. I wonder if they will follow suit?

You couldn't make this bumbling unprofessional bollocks up really. It may well change for a third time.

Apologies to the overwrought and overworked teachers who now have to tear up their Y11 plan yet again.

AQA posted yesterday that due to feedback they are now reviewing these changes.

So....the changes to the changes will likely be changed?

Great.

What a bloody joke! My Year 11 has been back for 2 weeks and has now started on the novel (as the poetry was no longer going to be in it) So, he has now lost 6 months of proper teaching and these bloody idiots announce they will change it again, and are now apparently re-looking at it! How the hell are these kids meant to cope with this constant changing of goalposts? It makes me so cross

My yr 11 has been told they are dropping the 19th century novel (after I bought the book & the study guides obviously!)

It was also never clear (to me anyway) whether AQA was keeping the unseen poetry (which would be harder without studying "seen" poetry) or dropping that altogether. For Edexcel poetry, seen and unseen, has the same weighting as the 19c novel, for example.

What a mess. I'm tutoring a yr 11 student Eng lit and it would be helpful to know what's going on, eh. We are carrying on with R&J as that seems to be a fixture!!

It was never the case that poetry would definitely go. Ofqual were clear that Shakespeare was core but that boards could decide if anything else needed to be. It was the media who made out that poetry was the thing that had been dropped - but that was never the case.

The whole thing has been a mess on timing, however AQA never said they'd be dropping all the poetry.

Ofqual said that the only compulsory unit they would insist all boards had was Shakespeare and beyond that it was up to exam boards.
Instead of waiting for the boards to make their changes, a media frenzy happened where it was reported that children would never study poetry.

Any department that made changes to their curriculum without waiting for the exam boards to release their information was very foolish in my opinion.

@MrsHamlet

It was never the case that poetry would definitely go. Ofqual were clear that Shakespeare was core but that boards could decide if anything else needed to be. It was the media who made out that poetry was the thing that had been dropped - but that was never the case.

yes but the original guidance certainly suggested schools could drop one text. I agree the media latched on to "noooooo! poetry is going!" but it was certainly suggested as one option (tho I know schools who are planning and always were planning, to drop the novel).

Our school told the students this week they'd dropped poetry and set the planning for the term accordingly. What an absolute shit show this year is turning out to be.

Edexcel have announced - did it before aqa. Their version is that either the poetry component (which includes unseen poetry) or the c19th novel can be dropped; Shakespeare and the modern text remain compulsory.

The exam boards have done this for their own ease.... schools have to announce which route they are taking in January so the exam board can send the adjusted papers. What's best for the kids doesn't count.

Our school told the students this week they'd dropped poetry and set the planning for the term accordingly. What an absolute shit show this year is turning out to be.
The school was silly then because AQA hadn't said anything.

I'm the first to say when I think higher bodies have been out of line, and I do think the boards should have announced sooner, but why any school would make massive curriculum changes or announcements when the exam board haven't confirmed the changes is beyond me.

Depending what the boards finally decide, is there anything to stop schools jumping boards for English Lit?
ie

• Are the texts & poems different?
• Is the focus entirely different?

Teen
That's currently the discussion that's happening in some education groups.
Some departments are looking at Edexcel I think and AQA are currently reviewing their plans because people have complained.

There's no perfect solution, but some of these issues are of teachers' making by making big decisions and announcements without the information.

As PP said, edexcel announced last week that the modern text remains compulsory. It’s fine for my school, but I’m still outraged tbh. The reduction in content was supposed to make things easier for pupils & schools; these versions might make it harder And increase the disadvantage gap.

They’ve done it to make it easier to issue papers. I don’t understand why it isn’t simply “Paper 1 - Shakespeare” and “paper 2 - choose two of the three”

I expect it to change again.

There's no perfect solution, but some of these issues are of teachers' making by making big decisions and announcements without the information.

Wow. What did you expect us to do? Twiddle our thumbs for the first two weeks of this term while we waited for the exam boards? Use our crystal balls at the start of last year?

If AQA drop poetry that disadvantages DS and other pupils at schools who have already studied poetry, so they now need to study 2 texts whereas schools who haven’t started poetry only have to study 1. Thought this was meant to avoid that situation

Wow. What did you expect us to do? Twiddle our thumbs for the first two weeks of this term while we waited for the exam boards? Use our crystal balls at the start of last year?

Not go making announcements to students until a decision has been made? Not go totally changing the curriculum?

My department managed to be irritated at AQA's slow approach without telling our students that they don't have to study poetry.

I know several departments who've done some of the following:

• focused on English Language to start
• reviewed a mixture of topics from lockdown and last year
• Had a skills focus and looked at technical accuracy, planning answers or essay writing

Nobody had to make sweeping changes and tell students they weren't doing poetry when the exam board hadn't said anything of the sort.

AQA are responsible for their poor organisation and timing.
Departments who make the decision to announce changes that haven't come from the board are responsible for their decision.

DS was only told when it was announced by AQA, I’ve now warned him it might change

I think making Shakespeare compulsory is one thing, making another unit also compulsory is another. Depending on the order they have studied things in they might have to teach the whole original syllabus and effectively drop something they have already studied.

TeenPlusTwenties
I'm inclined to agree with you.

I don't think AQA have been very organised at all. They may find some departments question their long term custom with the board. I know one of my friends who is a HoD is thinking of moving their department board this year and may not be going back if it works well.

My issue is that schools had a range of options to start the year whilst waiting for AQA to sort themselves out (including starting with Shakespeare because that's the one Ofqual have said is compulsory) so it was foolish for by department to be making big changes or announcements to students before AQA had announced their position.

Now there's even more uncertainty because lots of schools decided to make an announcement/big changes, then found that poetry was compulsory and now the whole thing is up in the air whilst we all wait to see if AQA are going to do a u turn, which is more uncertainty that could have been avoided by people not making decisions without information.

How many exam boards are there?

There's 4:
AQA
Edexcel
Eduqas (WJEC Welsh board)
OCR

All have to follow what Ofqual say but beyond that there is flexibility.

For example one of the issues I've heard raised regarding AQA poetry is that it is the only section that has comparison in their GCSE Literature and Ofqual had specified there has to be comparison when the specs were originally created. From what I've heard (so second/third hand here) some of the other boards have comparison in some of their other sections so it would be easier for them to scrap poetry.

The texts are usually quite similar. All big boards will have the popular texts such as Romeo and Juliet, An Inspector Calls etc but they'll have different less popular texts.

Teachers have no bloody chance. I’m livid!!! How the hell does this malarkey reduce content? How on Earth are teachers meant to know what to teach our kids? DDs school were meant to be doing 19c novel and poetry this year so were asked to read P&P over the hols ready to hit the deck running in September, which they’ve done. Teachers had to make decisions without knowing what would happen. Reducing content was all last minute. The fact that schools are back but there’s still no definite decision is an absolute disgrace. Is it exams boards? Ofqual? DfE? Govt?
I’m also livid about the extra work the MFL orals are causing!! Certainly not reducing content.

Does anyone know what is happening with History?

@ineedaholidaynow

Does anyone know what is happening with History?

My Dd has been told they are dropping the medicine topic in History.