Reading lists and articles featuring GCSE

GCSE English literature texts

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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 | WJEC (not from 2022 onwards)
Julius Caesar | AQA
Twelfth Night | Edexcel
Othello | Eduqas | WJEC (not from 2022 onwards)
Henry V | Eduqas
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 | Eduqas | 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 | OCR | WJEC (not after summer 2022)
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
Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey | CCEA
Philadelphia, Here I Come! by Brian Friel | CCEA
Our Town by Thornton Wilder | CCEA
Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock | OCR (from September 2022)

Modern prose texts for GCSE

Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin | Edexcel
Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman | Edexcel
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 | Eduqas
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

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

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 make-up? 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 are able to. If you have suggestions for more great contemporary, interesting and diverse books for GCSE classes – please use our contact form and let us know.