GCSE English Language and Literature
This GCSE is literacy from end to end. Learners analyse seen and unseen poetry, prose, drama and non-fiction, write extended critical essays and creative literary and non-fiction pieces, and are assessed on a recorded presentation and on group and paired discussions, with accuracy of grammar, punctuation and spelling built into AO2, which is half of every award. Numeracy is light: learners must read non-continuous texts such as infographics and data in the non-fiction anthology, and the biggest thing Key Stage 3 should build is confident, evidence-led analytical writing about unseen texts, drafted and proofread to a high standard of accuracy.
- First taught
- September 2025
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the WJEC specification (PDF)
How this GCSE is assessed
- Unit 1: Context and Meaning (Single and Double Award): Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 60 marks, 30% of the Single Award, 15% of the Double Award
- Unit 2: Belonging (Single and Double Award): NEA approximately 7 hours, 60 marks, 20% of the Single Award, 10% of the Double Award
- Unit 3: Influence and Power (Single and Double Award): NEA approximately 5 hours 55 minutes, 50 marks, 20% of the Single Award, 10% of the Double Award
- Unit 4a: Motivations (Single Award only): Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 60 marks, 30% of the Single Award
- Unit 4b: Motivations (Double Award only): Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 60 marks, 20% of the Double Award
- Unit 5: Continuity and Change (Double Award only): NEA approximately 8 hours, 60 marks, 20% of the Double Award
- Unit 6: Connections (Double Award only): Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes, 80 marks, 25% of the Double Award
Skills that use Clarity and vocabulary
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Researched individual oral presentation
Unit 2 Task B is a recorded, individually researched presentation on a theme, issue, representation or relationship from the studied prose text. It is mainly assessed on AO2, plus research and comment on the reliability of sources.
Literacy: Clarity and vocabulary, Purpose, Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils give a two minute talk to their group about a character from the class novel, using a cue card of no more than five key words.
- Year 8
- Pupils research an issue raised by their class novel, such as homelessness or migration, and present for three minutes using two sources they name aloud.
- Year 9
- Pupils record a four minute researched presentation linking their class novel to a real issue in Wales, explaining why one source is more reliable than another, and review the recording.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, Task B, Section 3.2, page 35 (also Section 2.3, page 17)
“Task B requires learners to complete an individually researched oral presentation”
Progression step 3
I can speak clearly, recognising the appropriate language for different audiences and purposes, and varying my expression, vocabulary, tone and gestures to engage the audience.
I can organise talk so that different audiences in different contexts can follow what is being said, including using formal language.
I can make use of reference/digital sources to select, summarise and synthesise information, referencing as appropriate.
Progression step 4
I can speak clearly, selecting and adapting my language appropriately for a range of audiences and purposes, conveying meaning effectively to the audience.
I can convey meaning convincingly in a range of contexts so that the audience is fully engaged.
I can research a wide range of reference and digital sources to develop a full understanding of a topic or issue.
Progression step 5
I can speak fluently and confidently, using a range of techniques, expressions and gestures.
I can present ideas and issues to meet the demands of different audiences.
I can use printed and digital texts to search selectively, assessing the reliability, significance and accuracy of what I find.
Good to know
- Single Award is Units 1, 2, 3 and 4a. Double Award is Units 1, 2, 3, 4b, 5 and 6 (page 7), so Double Award learners sit one more written examination (Unit 6, 80 marks) and one more NEA with a paired discussion (Unit 5).
- There is no separate SPaG mark. Accuracy sits inside AO2 iv, "accurate punctuation and spelling" (page 32), and AO2 is 50% of both the Single and Double Award (page 33).
- AO2 weighting by unit in the Single Award: Unit 1 9%, Unit 2 10%, Unit 3 16%, Unit 4a 15% (page 33). In the Double Award it is 4.5%, 5%, 8%, 10% (Unit 4b), 10% (Unit 5) and 12.5% (Unit 6).
- Unit 3 Task B "will assess AO2 only" and "The suggested length is 400-500 words"; the work "must be a written text designed to be spoken" (page 36).
- Suggested lengths: Unit 2 Task A "750-1000 words" (page 34); Unit 5 Task A "1000 -1500 words" (page 36).
- Oracy: Unit 3 group discussion of "6-10 minutes" with "3-4 learners" (page 35); Unit 5 paired discussion of "5-8 minutes" (page 37). Oracy "must be audio recorded or audio-visually recorded" and audio only recordings need the candidate's page of notes uploaded (page 34).
- NEA written work "may be handwritten and scanned, or completed digitally" (page 34). Units 1, 4a, 4b and 6 are each a written examination of 1 hour 30 minutes (pages 5 to 6).
- Unit 1 poetry study must include "sonnet, elegy, ballad and blank verse" from the 19th and 20th centuries (page 13).
- Watching performances of the Shakespeare play "must not be a substitute for studying the whole text" (page 37).
- The specification does not mention dictionaries or calculators for any unit.
Links with other GCSEs
Appendix A (page 44) links Units 2, 3 and 6 to the numeracy statistics strand, so History, Geography and Science work on reading charts in media sources directly supports the non-continuous texts learners meet here.
Source: WJEC GCSE English Language and Literature (Single and Double Award) specification, Version 5, teaching from 2025, for award from 2027, © WJEC CBAC Ltd. 2024.