Chris Passey MA FCCT Deputy Head, Kimichi School
When students come to study their GCSE texts in secondary school, how well prepared are they to interpret them with an open mind that has been trained to spot the techniques used by the authors? Doubtless they have had insightful teachers who have equipped them with their own idea of the best skills and abilities needed to pass the Assessment Objectives (OFQUAL, 2013), but have the teachers in their primary settings been cognisant of this or is it more likely that a need to pass the SAT examinations have taken priority?
While both sets of examination objectives underscore reading, writing, and language skills, the GCSE objectives necessitate a more sophisticated and nuanced application of these. Crucially, at GCSE, we are looking for a developed sense of self in the answers provided; insights into their own interpretations that can be backed up by the text. So why are we waiting to advance critical thinking, creativity and the ability to engage with complex literary texts until it may be too late? I think the answer lies in a) the coordination of a disjointed system and b) a renewed focus on the writing curriculum for Years 5 and 6.
I am inspired by the concept-led curriculum design as espoused by Helman and Gibbs (2022) where they suggest that the introduction of overarching concepts such as power, ambition and human connection earlier in academic study will enable deeper connections to be made when it
comes to the interpretation of texts six years in the future. For example, students being introduced to Ebenezer Scrooge in Year 10 through a lens of socioeconomic injustice, the class system and, perhaps more simply, greed, will recall their introduction to such concepts through the exploration of several types of texts, in-depth analysis and writing. This introduction, and subsequent tracked curriculum revists, will mean that Scrooge will be more relatable and their ability to approach his character as Dickens’s vehicle for redemption will be deep-rooted and likely to result in more meaningful expressions of personal interpretation. Access to higher grade boundaries and a broader cultural understanding and appreciation? Win, win!
Of course, it’s not as simple as that but there’s no harm in attempting a shift in the culture of English teaching. I’ve always struggled with the idea of picking a text and drawing out of it the requisite pieces that match the demands of the examination overlords. So, how can you begin your own revolution? How do we lay the foundations of a concept legacy to be drawn upon when the time comes?
Making connections with feeder schools, or even through your MAT English forums, will not only strengthen those crucial relationships but could lead to a through-line of education that will really benefit your students beyond the arbitrary stresses of SATs. Remember, though, it’s not your job to align your own teaching with a future school that could very well be totally disconnected from your students.
If English is the ‘gateway’ (Ivan, 2014) to all other subjects, then it’s our duty to not only hold the key but to make countless copies and point out that door to everyone in the most obvious way possible, maybe even those fluorescent shop sales signs: “SUCCESS IN ENGLISH AS WELL AS ENRICHED CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE NOW FOR SALE”.
To my mind, no harm can come from the Year 5/6 teacher meeting with the KS4 teachers in their MAT or LA federation and building a curriculum that revells in the success of deep understanding of concepts but which actually starts in the primary classroom. By identifying the weaknesses that GCSE teachers encounter in lack of inference, surface-level analysis and progression, we can all pull together by beginning the work as soon as possible.
Helman and Gibbs said that there is intrinsic value in meaning making (2022) and I interpret this as giving permission to English teachers to teach their mandatory curriculum content for the SATS - yes - but to also cultivate a deeper level of conceptual understanding alongside this. Such action will, perhaps one day, reap the rewards of this foresight through your students having either a richer understanding of the world around them or by their attainment of the higher grades in their GCSE examinations. If this happens then you will have been the thread; the most important through-line in their education.
And from here … a developed love of reading? Perhaps, even, a new way to model and teach writing? Either way, it’s time we celebrated the importance of excellent primary English teaching
and the work you do every day to improve outcomes and progression but perhaps with the potential of connection and continuity from your classroom to GCSE results day.
More books, more in-depth analysis, more writing and fewer fronted adverbials. After reading this, everything might change.