Any English GCSE teachers around?

[GCSEhelp123]

Could anyone confirm whether if your child's school has studied one text and said child answers a question on another text, they would be penalised?

I have no idea if the examiners know beforehand which text the school / child has supposedly studied in depth and whether this would be detrimental.

Thanks you for any information you can share!

Not an English teacher, but no, a child would not be penalised (beyond probably not doing very well). Examiners simply mark Macbeth essays, or R&J essays, they do not get told which texts the child 'should' be answering questions on. A percentage of children do answer the 'wrong' questions each year, sometimes on purpose, but mostly through not understanding the rules of the paper. Common mistakes are answering the first two questions, the first questions in each section or answering all the questions.

@Kranken thank you so much for this; you've really put my mind at ease.

Thank you 😊

We mark everything on the paper and the system works out the best mark in the permitted combination.

Theoretically if they studied Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare at school, but knew lots about Macbeth and answered the Macbeth question instead then they could get full marks. It doesn't matter what the school set text was. The marker will mark whichever question (or questions in cases where students don't read the exam instructions)

They might be disadvantaged if they answer a question on a text they've not studied in depth though if the answer itself isn't a high quality answer.

Thank you @MrsHamlet and @LolaSmiles

This is really a time of year when it's difficult to see the wood for the trees - and that's just us parents!

I didn't feel able to approach the school for fear of condemnation so I genuinely appreciate your help and kind responses. Thank you so much 😊

@GCSEhelp123 One of our students did all the questions....

@MrsHamlet oh my goodness! I hope they could write very fast!

@GCSEhelp123 I suspect they may not do very well. As an examiner, I expect to see a good number who've done similar.

@MrsHamlet poor thing. I'd do anything to be the one sitting the exams in their place.