Reading the headlines over the past week, you would be forgiven for thinking poetry had been dropped from the 2021 English Literature GCSE. But it hasn’t been.
So, what is the truth? Ofqual updated its guidance to say:
“Centres will have the option to focus on particular texts. All students will be assessed on a play by Shakespeare and on 2 of the remaining 3 areas of content: poetry; 19th century novel; or fiction/drama from the British Isles from 1914.”
Why has anything been dropped from the English Literature GCSE?
Ofqual launched a consultation to gather opinions on how it could modify the assessment requirements for some GCSEs, AS and A levels as a response to the disruption to education caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Originally, the proposal had suggested no change to the English Literature GCSE, and instead had planned to only remove the non-exam assessed speaking and listening element from English Language GCSE.
However, in the summary of the consultation, Ofqual noted that:
“We invited views in the consultation on our proposal that there should be no change to the assessment arrangements in this subject (Questions 99 and 100). There was stronger disagreement (48%) than agreement (38%) with this proposal with respondents arguing for optionality in coverage of subject content, (for optional content and/or optional questions).”
For this reason, Ofqual decided to make only three of the four areas of study exam assessed.
When will we find out what the exams will look like?
Some teachers have speculated that the two English Literature GCSE papers will now be split, with Shakespeare on one paper, and the second paper allowing students to pick two of the three remaining assessment areas.
However, exam boards are yet to announce what these new exams will look like.
What has been ‘dropped’ from the English Literature GCSE?
For the English Literature GCSE, all students usually sit a paper on Shakespeare, poetry, a 19th century novel (such as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, or A Christmas Carol) and a modern fiction or drama text from the British Isles (such as An Inspector Calls, or Blood Brothers).
Lists of texts are dictated by the exam boards, and then teachers choose from these lists. Edexcel updated its list in August 2019 to include more diverse writers, making texts by Benjamin Zephaniah and Meera Syal available for schools to teach.
Will poetry be the section that schools choose to drop?
Possibly. After all, we know that one of the three sections will not be examined.
However, the poetry anthology will be easier to teach remotely in some ways. This means it might be a safer bet for an academic year that may be disrupted with further lockdowns.
The decision about what to drop will probably not be made by individual English teachers, but by department heads. It will also probably be a data-driven decision, as schools look at which two of the three areas their students generally perform the strongest in.
The extra challenge of the archaic language of the 19th-century novel may drive some schools to drop this section, while the lack of open theatre venues may lead others to drop their modern text, if it is a dramatic performance they would typically have taken their students to.
Why has there been so much press coverage about poetry being dropped?
It is hard to tell. Many of the poets in the anthology are still alive to comment on the potential of their work not being studied, so this may be a factor. There is also a perception among the general public that poetry is “hard”, which may fuel assumptions that it will be the first to go.
Is this change likely to become permanent?
At this point there is no reason to believe that these changes will remain for 2022. Poetry, the modern text and the 19th-century novel will still be studied by Year 10 students in 2021. Even in schools where poetry is the section that is dropped, there will still be poetry studied by students in all the other years.
Will students now achieve higher grades than previous years?
No, students will not necessarily achieve higher grades than previous years, due to the way that Ofqual takes steps to prevent grade inflation. Although the exam has less content, the marks are still referenced against the ability of the cohort to ensure that grades are an accurate reflection of this.
