The Working Group on GCSE English Reform was set up by the English Association and University English in response to very widespread disquiet in the discipline about the current GCSE provision. The group is made up of secondary school teachers, academics from university Departments of English, university Departments of Education and educational consultants.

The Group has published a report and recommendations:

Prompted by very wide disquiet right across the discipline of English at Secondary, Further and Higher education level, our Working Group argues that the current GCSE provision for English Literature and English Language is not fit for purpose. Increasingly narrow in content, encouraging forms of teaching which do not develop the core skills of English, they have made the subject too coupled to assessment, and mean that English no longer engages with students’ identities or diversity. Both assessments fail to foster the core aptitudes of the subject ¬- communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking – and as a consequence, let down students, teachers, potential employers and other stakeholders as well as diminishing the enjoyment of the subject.

In response, our Group makes detailed recommendations to reframe and reform both GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature, make them more diverse and inclusive in content and scope, and reset their relations to reading, to writing and, with due regard to ongoing work, to oracy, and further to develop assessment and teacher expertise.

We are delighted that this Group is led by Professor Robert Eaglestone, the Deputy Chair of the EA’s Higher Education Committee; we’re grateful to Robert, and to the other members of the EA who contributed to this crucial piece of work.

You can read coverage of the report by tes (published 16 July 2024).

Click here to read the report and recommendations