GCSE English

gcse english language Specification

All Year 11 and 12 students study GCSE English Language offered by CCEA. There is a natural cross over between this course and the GCSE English Literature and both courses are therefore offered through an integrated pathway in eight teaching periods per week. Units 1 and 4 are external examination units, while units 2 and 3 are internally assessed and moderated.

Year 11 English Language

All students in Year 11 take the English Language Unit 1 Paper at the end of the first year of this two year course.

Unit 1:

Writing for Purpose and Audience and Reading to Access Non-fiction and Media Texts

This is an external written examination and is an untiered paper.

Students have 1 hour 45 mins to complete five tasks:

      • Section A: Writing for Purpose and Audience - 1 essay length task
      • Section B: Reading Non-Fiction and Media - 4 shorter responses.

The examination is worth 30% of the total marks available for GCSE English Language.


Year 12 English Language

At the end of Year 12, students sit the terminal unit which makes up the remaining 30% of the total GCSE in English Language.

Unit 4:

Personal or Creative Writing and Reading Literary and Non-fiction Texts

This is an external written examination and is an untiered paper.

Students have 1 hour 45 mins to complete four tasks:

      • Section A: Personal or Creative Writing: One essay length task
      • Section B:Reading Literary and Non-Fiction Texts - 3 shorter tasks responding to literary comprehension

The examination is worth 30% of the total marks available for GCSE English Language.

Exam Dates 18/19

Unit 1 (Year 11 Students) - Wednesday, 29th May

Unit 4 (Year 12 Students) - Tuesday, 4th June

Unit 2: Speaking and Listening Moderation between Friday 1 March - Tuesday 26 March 2019

Unit 3: (Certification 2020 - Year 11) Study of Written Language February 2019

Study of Spoken Language September 2019

COntrolled Assessment: Unit 2 Speaking and Listening


English classrooms are very active! We promote Speaking and Listening at every opportunity and love to hear the opinions of our pupils proving lots of scope for students to role-play, present and express ideas. The final marks for this assessment unit are made up of a pupil's best three scores in the following tasks;

  • Individual Presentation and Interaction
  • Group Discussion
  • Role Play

Results in this unit reflect 20% of the total GCSE in English Language

Controlled Assessment: UNit 3 Studying Spoken AND wRITTEN lANGUAGE


This is an internally moderated unit and involves students completing 2 controlled assessment tasks. The focus of these tasks change every year and are centered around themes chosen by CCEA.

Task 1: The Study of Spoken Language: Our current Year 12 investigated the spoken language of interviews and our current Year 11 will explore eulogies.

Task 2: The Study of Written Language. This task affords students an opportunity to explore and critically analyse the writing of a prose text. The examined text for GCSE English Literature is used to complete this assessment either Lord of the Flies or Of Mice and Men.

Results in this unit reflect the final 20% of the total GCSE in English Language.