GCSE English set texts

GCSE English literature texts

Exam syllabus key and links: AQA | CCEA | EDUQAS | Edexcel | OCR | WJEC

By Tom Tolkien. This page was last updated on November 12th, 2023.

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19th-century novels and prose for GCSE

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens | AQA | Edexcel | Eduqas | WJEC
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens | AQA | Edexcel | OCR
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley | AQA | Edexcel
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas | WJEC
• The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle | AQA
• The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas
• Silas Marner by George Eliot | Edexcel | Eduqas | WJEC
• War of the Worlds by HG Wells | OCR | Eduqas

Shakespeare for GCSE

• Macbeth | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas
• Romeo and Juliet | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas
• The Tempest | AQA | Edexcel
• Merchant of Venice | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas
• Much Ado About Nothing | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas |
• Julius Caesar | AQA
• Twelfth Night | Edexcel | Eduqas
• Othello | Eduqas |
• Henry V
• CCEA board specifies “a Shakespeare play” on the theme of conflict or love.

Modern drama texts for GCSE

• The Empress by Tanika Gupta | Edexcel
• Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zephaniah (adapted  by Lemn
  Sissay) | Edexcel
• An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas | CCEA | WJEC
• Blood Brothers by Willy Russell | AQA | Edexcel | WJEC | Eduqas | CCEA
• The History Boys by Alan Bennett | AQA | WJEC | Eduqas
• DNA by Dennis Kelly | AQA | OCR
• Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon / Simon Stephens | AQA | Eduqas | CCEA
• A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney | AQA | WJEC
• Hobson’s Choice by Harold Brighouse | Edexcel | WJEC
• Journey’s End by RC Sherriff | Edexcel | CCEA
• My Mother Said I Never Should by Charlotte Keatley
• A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller | WJEC
• Be My Baby by Amanda Whittington | WJEC
• Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel | CCEA
• All My Sons by Arthur Miller CCEA
• Philadelphia, Here I Come! by Brian Friel | CCEA
• Our Town by Thornton Wilder | CCEA
• Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock | AQA | OCR (from September 2022) Eduqas
• Princess & the Hustler by Chinonyerem Odimba | AQA (from September 2023)
• Three Dublin Plays by Sean O’Casey | CCEA

Modern prose texts for GCSE

• Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin | Edexcel
• Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman | Edexcel | Eduqas
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe | CCEA
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding | AQA | CCEA | Edexcel | Eduqas | WJEC
• The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene | CCEA
• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee | CCEA | WJEC
• Animal Farm by George Orwell | AQA | CCEA | Edexcel OCR
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck | CCEA | WJEC
• Anita & Me by Meera Syal | AQA | Edexcel | OCR | Eduqas | WJEC
• Woman in Black by Susan Hill | Edexcel | Eduqas
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro | AQA | OCR | WJEC
• Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle | WJEC | CCEA
• Heroes by Robert Cormier | WJEC
• About a Boy by Nick Hornby | WJEC | CCEA
• Resistance by Owen Sheers | WJEC
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou | WJEC
• Ash on a Young Man’s Sleeve by Danni Abse | WJEC
• Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson | Eduqas
• How Many Miles to Babylon? by Jennifer Johnston | CCEA
• Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman | AQA
• Chanda’s Secrets by Allan Stratton | WJEC
• My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal | AQA

OCR has a free set of resources for teaching diverse texts at GCSE and A levels.

• BBC Teach has created a great series of free videos that set key quotations from texts to funky music to make them easier to remember. The nine most popular GCSE set texts are included.
• BBC Sounds offers a fantastic set of free GCSE English Literature revision podcasts that cover many of the most studied set texts, including Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, Blood Brothers, Jane Eyre, and An Inspector Calls.

Schools and teachers – if you are looking to place volume orders, bulk orders or whole-year group purchases, please use the bulk order facility button below. Note, this takes you to Bookshop UK and we may earn commission from any purchases.

Many teachers and lobby groups have contacted us to suggest that schools and pupils find the English Literature set texts specified by the major Exam boards to be restrictive and lacking in diversity or relevance to today’s society.

Imagine that teachers could decide which books to teach, and tailor the choice of set texts to the pupils they teach and the world they live in. Which books would be most relevant to your cohort? Which novels, dramatic works and poems would encourage pupils to consider all aspects of our country’s cultural and societal makeup? If you could pick any books to teach to Year 10 and Year 11 to ensure a lively, edgy, and engaging course for your students – what would you pick?

We’ve compiled the following list of additional texts for GCSE-aged pupils – to teach if you can. If you have suggestions for more great contemporary, interesting and diverse books for GCSE classes – please use our contact form and let us know.

Our additional GCSE set text list

Additional 19th-century or earlier plays, novels or prose

• Antony and Cleopatra

Additional modern drama. Our advice – study a play that your student could also perform in a production.

• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennesse Williams
• The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• Lord of the Flies adapted by Nigel Williams
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
• Sizwe Bansi is Dead by Athol Fugard
• Our Country’s Good adapted by Timberlake Wertenbaker

Additional modern prose

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka
• Catching Teller Crow by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
• Boy meets Boy by David Levithan
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess
• The Lonely Londoners by San Selvon
• You’re Not Proper by Tariq Mehmood
• Native Son by Richard Wright
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Black Flamingo by Dean Atta
• Homefire by Kamila Shamsie
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• A House for Mr Biswas by VS Naipaul
• Face by Benjamin Zephaniah
• I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill
• Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman
• Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D Jackson
• Internment by Samira Ahmed
• On the come up by Angie Thomas
• Indigo Donut by Patrice Lawrence
• Killing Honour by Bali Rai
• Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker
• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
• The Girl in the Broken Mirror by Savita Kalhan
• Darkness Falling by Patrick MacDonald

Additional short stories and essays

• A Change Is Gonna Come by Darren Chetty

Additional poetry

• And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
• Telephone Box by Wole Soyinka
• The Book of Traps and Lessons by Kae Tempest
• Answering Back by Carol Anne Duffy
• The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Solo by Kwame Alexander

This is a live suggestion section – if you have ideas for more great GCSE set text choices, please get in touch via our contact form.