Key Stage 4 · ages 14 to 16
Key Stage 4 English: what your child learns
In Years 10 and 11 pupils read at least one Shakespeare play, works from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries and poetry since 1789, including Romantic poems. They analyse writers’ choices, weigh evidence and bias, compare texts and form their own informed response, and they write to describe, narrate, explain, instruct, inform and argue. GCSEs, graded 9 to 1, are taken at the end of Year 11.
Guides for parents
Key Stage 4 English
Spoken vs written language and registers
How GCSE English students analyse the differences between spoken and written language, formal and informal registers and Standard English, with a worked example.
Key Stage 4 English
Grammar and vocabulary for effect
How GCSE English students study why writers build sentences as they do, and use grammar and vocabulary on purpose in their own writing, with a worked example.
Key Stage 4 English
Purpose, context, themes and characterisation
How Key Stage 4 pupils read for different purposes, use context to evaluate texts, identify themes and explore plot, character and setting, with a worked example.
Key Stage 4 English
Evidence, bias and writers’ choices
How GCSE pupils back up points with evidence, tell fact from unsupported claims, spot bias and analyse a writer’s choices of vocabulary, form and structure.
Key Stage 4 English
Comparing texts and personal response
How GCSE English students compare texts and write an informed personal response: what the skills mean, a worked comparison, common mistakes and ways parents can help.
Key Stage 4 English
Shakespeare, classics and Romantic poetry
What the Key Stage 4 curriculum requires pupils to read: a Shakespeare play, 19th to 21st-century works and poetry since 1789, with ideas for home.
Key Stage 4 English
Presentations, debates and performance
How GCSE English students plan and deliver formal talks and debates, and use voice, silence and movement when performing scripts and poetry, with a worked planning task.
Key Stage 4 English
Group discussion and listening
How GCSE English students learn to lead and take part in group discussions, listen well, challenge courteously and evaluate what they hear, with a practical task.
Key Stage 4 English
Notes, drafting and proofreading
How GCSE English students make notes, draft, revise, edit and proofread their writing, with a worked example of improving a weak paragraph and tips for parents.
Key Stage 4 English
Writing for purpose and audience
How GCSE students learn to write to describe, narrate, explain, instruct, inform and argue, adapting to audience and form, with a worked example and ideas for home.
Everything in the Key Stage 4 English curriculum
The National Curriculum topics for Key Stage 4, in the order the National Curriculum lists them.