Exceptional English with Ellen

It’s sunny and it’s the holidays but a week today, students will sit their final GCSE English Language paper.

Has your Year 11 child done any writing in preparation for the exam?

That is how improvement is made! 💯

Comment ‘TASK’ and their GCSE or IGCSE English Language exam board below and I will give them two writing tasks to complete with suggested timings. ✍️✨

“I can’t wait to put Macbeth in the bin”.

This half term has been a tough one. Every one of my tutees is so tired and the relief is palpable that GCSE English Literature in particular is done with. My groups are Language focused but I always ask about Literature. So when one of them said the above earlier this week, I wasn’t really surprised, but I was sad to my core.

I love Shakespeare. And I think if we got it right, they could love him and his works too. But this curriculum is all so wrong and it makes me sad.

How can we expect any student to hold this stuff to their hearts when they are raced through it at the speed of knots?

The amount of content is completely overwhelming, to the point where they often don’t have time to read the texts properly. Or if they miss a poem then it’s catch up notes and that’s it, one lesson for that poem and done.

That’s not their fault or their teachers, that is a curriculum jam-packed. Breadth but no depth.

And with no depth, what’s really left? Certainly not much that stays with them meaningfully.

If at the end of GCSE English Literature they want to bin it all, to forget it all, to never look at it again, then the system has failed.

The picture below shows some of the aims for the KS4 English curriculum from the Department for Education website. I couldn’t fit them all on but don’t worry, they don’t achieve those either.

Well if those are the aims here is the outcome, DfE.

They can’t wait to put it all in the bin. 😔

Well done. Stellar job.

Last chance to book! Zoom links and further instructions will be sent to all those who have booked later today. 😊

For students sitting English Literature Paper 2 tomorrow - timings and marks available for each section. (AQA, Eduqas and Pearson Edexcel IGCSE)

Three simple things left to say:

1. Stick to your timings
2. Answer the question
3. Trust yourself

Best of luck to you all!

Ellen. 💫

This page has had nearly half a million views in the last month. 🤯

When I first left teaching, I thought about how my world in terms of student interactions was about to get smaller. Fewer hours, fewer students and so I naturally thought that meant less impact.

Now, I get messages from people from all over the world, people I have never met, and will never meet, thanking me for helping their children.

Whether it has been tuition itself or the smallest piece of advice I have given, I want to say that it means so much to me that I continue to make an impact - whether it be a big or small one.

So thank you right back. I love what I do.❤️

Please see below for the live sessions I have coming up in the run up to the 3 remaining GCSE English papers.

Tomorrow, is the final session of a series exploring the characters in An Inspector Calls:

Sunday 17th May 7-8:15pm: Sheila Birling and the way she changes.

Next Wednesday, I have my AQA English Language Paper 1 night before session. This will be a walkthrough of strategies for answering questions, how long to spend on each and top tips for the next day.

Wednesday 20th May 4pm-5:15pm: English Language AQA Paper 1 Walkthrough.

The week after half term is the AQA English Language Paper 2 Walkthrough.

Thursday 4th May 7:45pm- 9pm: English Language AQA Paper 2 Walkthrough.

All sessions are 75 minutes long and take place on zoom.

1 session can be booked for £30
Any 2 can be booked for £55
Any 3 can be booked for £80

Please inbox me to book.

Ellen. 💫

Revising for English Literature Paper 2 over the weekend?

Here are some things you might like to know:

An Inspector Calls 🕵

Is this the year we see the theme of social responsibility come up?

I also think it could be a Mr Birling question this year.

Last year, I was convinced it would be Sheila. It was, but it was a Sheila and Gerald question so Sheila’s change has never been up and could be what you see when you open the paper on Tuesday.

AQA Power and Conflict 💥

Two years of conflict questions makes me think that this year’s question could be power and, if so, I think it will be a power of nature question. Take a look over The Prelude, Storm on the Island and Exposure.

I also think we might be looking at a question with a more specific focus and if they choose a poem yet to come up, it would make sense for there to be an identity question. Take a look over Checking Out Me History and The Emigree.

AQA Love and Relationships ❤️

Last year was a question about growing up, so could it be romantic love this year?

I’m thinking a poem from an earlier period so perhaps Sonnet 29, When We Two Parted or Love‘s Philosophy.

Connections between family could also be the theme. Take a look over Climbing My Grandfather and Eden Rock for that one.

Unseen poetry 🔮

Believe it or not, I put a poem in front of my GCSE Eduqas group last year and it came up as their unseen poem the next day!

Even so, I have absolutely no idea for this one 😆

Finally, anything can come up and you should be sufficiently prepared for any question that comes your way! And that includes a question about the dreaded Tissue 🤧

Good luck to you all! 💫


Ellen

If your child is sitting the AQA English Language exam next Thursday, do they know the changes that have been made to the wording of some of the questions?🤔

The following slides outline the key changes which should help them respond with more clarity and precision. Please feel free to save these slides to share with them or tag them in this post.

Ellen. 💫

I hope everyone found the first English Literature exam good today.

If you attended my Macbeth masterclass this year, you will have noticed that the extract I used was the one that came up in the AQA exam this morning - Act 2 Scene 2 and the theme of guilt.👌

I have recordings available for English Literature paper 2, including An Inspector Calls, Unseen poetry and AQA poetry anthology masterclasses that focus on some of the poems yet to come up. Please contact me for further details if you wish to purchase any of these recordings before next Tuesday's exam. ✨