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.

I think the Government are hoping they can take place as normal!

That's what I thought they'd do all along! (except I had paper 1 and paper 2 round the other way )

Thanks Ineedaholidaynow for the update.

I'm so glad my dd did Macbeth and Jekyll in Y10!!

I think keeping the Unseen poetry is a way of 'encouraging' schools to stick with the anthology as well. It would be very odd studying unseen poetry only wouldn't it?

I always assumed the unseen poetry would stay - if you look at the Mark scheme they have 5 components each 20%

1. Shakespeare
2. 19tg C novel
3. Poetry Anthology
4. Unseen Poetry
5. Modern Text

My dc school is dropping Jekyll & Hyde which seems universally a popular choice (it’d be my choice).

Just to add they’d done all but half the poetry and Macbeth.

We did the anthology remotely during lockdown plus revision so ditching that. They've already done Shakespeare and 19th so we'll do modern and unseen this year.

We’re screwed as not done any poetry.

What have you done @LatinSisters?

We’ve covered all but some poetry and one text.

Schools should not have told students anything until it was certain. AQA in their initial guidance indicated that there would be AT LEAST one compulsory unit, implying others may be kept (as they were).

Also, if you e not done any poetry, then there is a year to study it and drop a text that was to be revised Or choose to drop it.

@LatinSisters

We’re screwed as not done any poetry.

Why? We’ve not done Shakespeare yet and I think we’re fine. We’re dropping a book already studied but it means they don’t have to revise it so all good

Sorry I means why are you screwed Latin?

Nobody should have said anything to their students before the board's guidance came out. I have been shocked by how many people didn't read the Ofqual guidance properly. It said that the boards could make other texts compulsory if they wished.
If you look at the weighting of the assessment objectives it was clear that AQA would have to include at least the unseen. I am more annoyed that they've gone back on guidance (but not surprised). Edexcel have also made another text compulsory. There was no fair way to reduce content as everyone teaches in a different order.

Why are you annoyed they’ve gone back on guidance? @GrammarTeacher
Given some schools are already behind and now closing down anything that can be done to take pressure off is a good thing, isn’t it? They’ll still have to study poetry in order to be successful at the unseen poetry.

They didn't go back on guidance. They chose the method that wouldn't involve restructuring all the papers significantly. Now they will have to. They have different weightings on poetry to the other boards. Edexcel also added a text. Cambridge IGCSE has made everything compulsory. Majority of schools were already disadvantaged as most have Shakespeare left to do.

You cannot know that "most schools" still have Shakespeare to do tho. I know quite a few English teachers and they all start with the Shakespeare. Not that I thus assume that all schools do, I hasten to add.

Ah, I understand. At least I think I understand. Just, in the post above you said you were annoyed they’d gone back on guidance. I didn’t understand what you meant, but it seems you didn’t mean that. Unless you were meaning Ofqual?
Majority of schools were already disadvantaged as most have Shakespeare left to do. but that still means there’s just one text to do rather than two. This is surely better and a reduction in content? I don’t mean to be argumentative, honestly. Am I missing something?

I think it is completely wrong for one exam board to ignore the ofqual decision and force schools to do the poetry. How can this be allowed to happen?

I guess the disadvantaged schools are those that did Poetry & 19C & 20C in y10, and have thus 'wasted' some time. (Maybe some schools do most Eng Lit in y10 and then leave y11 for Eng Lang?)

@myrtilles most schools only have one text left and for many it is Shakespeare.
AQA are NOT the only board to do this Edexcel made post-1914 compulsory. The Cambridge IGCSE has made it all compulsory.

@GrammarTeacher is that true about most schools only having one text left? DS's school have 2 and they worked on poetry through the Summer term. What about schools that did very little work during that term?

Most schools focused on year 10.

@TeenPlusTwenties that's exactly what we do (and language Paper 1). Then do Shakespeare when they've cracked analytical skills and paper 2 this term. Then mocks. Then revision.

@myrtilles

I think it is completely wrong for one exam board to ignore the ofqual decision and force schools to do the poetry. How can this be allowed to happen?

Because that was not the Ofqual decision.

Majority of schools were already disadvantaged as most have Shakespeare left to do.
How on earth can you make that sort of statement?

Just looking at the schools in my area that I know teachers in shows that different schools did the course in different orders. Based on the discussions I've been involved in online, there's a mixed picture too.

When parents are understandably worried and confused, I'm not sure sweeping statements about how 'most' schools structure their GCSE courses isn't helpful.

I asked teachers. That's how I know. This is not a surprise. It was discussed back in August. Some are disadvantaged every year due to the differing amount of curriculum time given to English. And there seemed to be no outcry over Edexcel's extra compulsory. AQA is not the hardest done by board. They have handled the communication dreadfully though.