GCSE Year 10
Year 10 is where your GCSE phase starts. You need to study for two years and then appear for exams at the end of Year 11 to pass your GCSEs. With new curriculum structure, a student needs to prepare for the subjects they have chosen in year 10 and year 11. Some students give GCSEs for some subjects in year 10 only. But Most of the students appear at the end of Year 11.
GCSE GRADING SYSTEM
Current Year 10 students will study GCSE’s in all subjects, mandatory and chosen one. GCSE’s will be graded using the numerical 1 to 9 system. The diagram below shows the appropriate comparison between the current GCSE grading system and the old ‘legacy’ system.
This new grading system is simpler but doesn’t have much pattern to establish as of now.
Exam Boards:
There are five exam boards. All your courses will be studied and assessed through one of these. They are:
OCR (www.ocr.org.uk)
AQA (www.aqa.org.uk)
EDEXCEL (www.edexcel.org.uk)
WJEC (www.wjec.co.uk)
EDUQAS (https://www.eduqas.co.uk/ )
At Champs Learning we offer tuition in 5 subjects:
1. Maths
2. English
3. Physics
4. Chemistry
5. Biology
Session Plan: We understand that we have one hour per subject per week as compared to more than 5 hours per subject at a school. Thus, the curriculum is well structured to accommodate all the important topics from each subject. Curriculum for each subject is spread over 42 weeks. So for every subject we have 42 teaching sessions.
Books:
We understand that we have one hour per subject per week as compared to more than 5 hours per subject at a school. Thus, the curriculum is well structured to accommodate all the important topics from each subject. Curriculum for each subject is spread over 42 weeks. So for every subject we have 42 teaching sessions.
Our books are concept and exercise books. Only Champs Learning have created these books as per the topic for each subject. It becomes very helpful for a student to revise a particular topic.
Assessment: After every concept or book, we conduct an assessment. This normally has a cycle of 4 weeks. This gives a fair idea to a student and teacher about the depth of understanding. Accordingly, teacher adapts his teaching sessions. We do also conduct end of the year assessment and conduct a detailed feedback session on these exams.
Class size: All the classes for GCSE and Key stage 3 at Champs Learning have small groups of students. This helps teachers to attend each student individually and engage for every subject. Students in small groups enjoy the advantage of personal attention and also the benefits of common queries or doubts.
Teachers: All the teachers at Champs Learning for GCSE are PGCE qualified and have secondary school teaching experience. They are subject matter experts and teach their subject individually. All of them follow Champs Learning books and the boards for which student preparing for.
Success: All our students have been achieving high grades from 7 onwards consistently. We are proud of them. Each student gets personal attention for his academic progress and mentored for high success in the final exams.
- Operations on Mixed Fractions
- Comparing Fractions,Ordering Fractions
- Recurring Decimals & Fractions
- Expressing One Number as a Fraction of another Number, Relation Between Fractions, Decimals & Percent
- Sequences(Deciding if a Term is in Sequence,Finding next terms in given sequence)
- Algebra with Inequalities(Showing Inequality on Number Line, Solving Quadratic Inequalities)
- Graphical Inequalities
- Percentage(Finding the percent change,Reverse Percentage)
- Percentage (Find % of an Amount,Finding x % of y without using calculator,New amount after a % increase or decrease,Simple Interest)
- Compound Growth and Decay
- Direct and Inverse Proportion
- Angles in Parallel Lines
- Angles in Polygons
- Area – Triangles and Quadrilaterals
- Area and Perimeter of Compound Shapes
- Probability Basics (All Probabilities are between 0 and 1, Probability Using a formula,Probability Add Up To 1,
- Probability(List All Outcomes,Use the Product Rule to count outcomes,Relative Frequency
- Probability (Record Results in Frequency Trees,Use Probability to find an “Expected Frequency”)
- Probability ( Independent and Dependent Events,The AND Rule,The OR Rule)
- Coordinate Geometry(Midpoint Formula, Use Ratios to find coordinates,Gradient (Slope) of a straight line)
- Coordinate Geometry (Different forms of Equation of Straight Line)
- Coordinate Geometry (Graphing Vertical and Horizontal Lines, straight line graphs)
- Real-Life Graph
- Congruent Shapes, Similar Shapes
- The Four Transformations
- Drawing in Maths
- Loci and Construction, Bearing
- Box Plots
- Cumulative Frequency
- Histogram and Frequency Density
- Stem and Leaf Diagram
At a glance
GCSE English Literature, and GSCE English Language (along with all other subjects) have been redesigned to become more demanding, bringing the UK’s 16 year old school-leavers up to par with international standards.
English Language GCSE (9-1)
Firstly, there are no set texts for the new English Language syllabus; pupils are expected to read a “wide range of texts” from the 19th, 20th and 21st century (a timely reminder to ensure that your child is reading for pleasure at home, from the earliest age possible!)
The reading assessment will comprise 50% of the new exam, and will be based on unseen texts from the past three centuries, both fiction and non-fiction. Pupils will be expected to evaluate the writer’s choice of vocabulary, form and structural features.
The writing assessment makes up the second 50%, with pupils expected to write clear and coherent texts. A weighty 20% of the marks for this exam are awarded for range of vocabulary and sentence structures, spelling and punctuation (an extension of the previous SPaG marks – spelling, punctuation and grammar).
There will continue to be a speaking and listening examination, however the results for this will be reported separately, and will not directly count towards GCSE marks.
English Literature GCSE (9-1)
The new English Literature syllabus focuses on ‘classic literature’ and ‘substantial whole texts in detail’, taken from the following categories:
- Shakespeare
- 19th century novel
- Selection of poetry since 1789, including Romantic poetry
- Fiction or drama from the British Isles from 1914 onwards
Students will be examined in two key components:
Reading
Literal and inferential comprehension:
Pupils will be expected to read ‘beyond’ the text, and spot differences between what is stated, and what is potentially meant. They will also be required to understand what is perhaps implied by a word in the context that it is used.
Critical reading:
Again, pupils need to look beyond what is written to pull deeper meaning from texts — perhaps by understanding the writer’s social/historical context to inform evaluation. Pupils will also need to support / oppose a point of view, or make an informed personal response by referring to evidence in the given text.
Evaluation of a writer’s choice of vocabulary:
Pupils will need to use linguistic and literary terminology to evaluate grammatical and structural features (such as, but not restricted to, phrase, metaphor, meter, irony and persona, synecdoche and pathetic fallacy)
Comparing texts:
Comparing both seen and unseen texts for theme, characterisation, context, style and literary quality.
Writing
Producing clear and coherent text:
Students will be expected to tailor their writing effectively to suit different purposes or audiences. They may be required to: Describe, narrate, explain, instruct, give and respond to information, and argue
Beyond an imaginative and creative use of language, and the appropriate selection of vocab, grammar, form and structure, pupils also need to be mindful to maintain coherence and consistency throughout their response.
Writing for impact:
Pupils will be expected to select, organise and emphasise key facts and ideas. Where appropriate, they should also cite their sources effectively in order to support their views.
Pupils should again use imaginative, creative and persuasive language (such as rhetorical questions, antithesis and parenthesis) in order to create an emotional impact.
20-25% of the marks in the final exam will include making comparison with unseen texts, again raising the importance for pupils to be in reading and analysing texts (is your child reading for pleasure yet?!)
A slightly less weighty 5% of marks will be awarded for vocabulary, sentence structures, spelling and punctuation.
Selection of Texts
While the exam boards, on the face of it, are providing a large selection of texts which the pupils may study, the reality of the situation is that schools make this selection for the pupils. We’ve highlighted the most popular choices in the tables below.
Shakespeare
Schools will select one play from the following for students to study
| Play title | Edexcel | AQA | OCR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macbeth | Y | Y | Y |
| Romeo and Juliet | Y | Y | Y |
| Much Ado About Nothing | Y | Y | Y |
| Twelfth Night | Y | ||
| The Merchant of Venice | Y | Y | Y |
| Julius Caeser | Y | ||
| The Tempest | Y | Y |
The 19th Century Novel
Schools will select one novel from the following for students to study
| Play title | Edexcel | AQA | OCR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – R L Stevenson | Y | Y | Y |
| Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen | Y | Y | Y |
| Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë | Y | Y | Y |
| Great Expectations – Charles Dickens | Y | Y | Y |
| A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens | Y | Y | |
| Silas Marner – George Eliot | Y | ||
| Frankenstein – Mary Shelley | Y | Y | |
| The War of the Worlds – H G Wells | Y | ||
| The Sign of Four – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle | Y |
Modern Texts
Schools will select one text from the following for students to study
| Play title | Edexcel | AQA | OCR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Farm — George Orwell | Y | Y | Y |
| An Inspector Calls — J B Priestley | Y | Y | Y |
| Lord of the Flies — William Golding | Y | Y | |
| Hobson’s Choice — Harold Brighouse | Y | ||
| Blood Brothers — Willy Russell | Y | Y | |
| Journey’s End — R C Sherriff | Y | ||
| Anita and Me — Meera Syal | Y | Y | Y |
| The Woman in Black — Susan Hill | Y | ||
| The History Boys — Alan Bennett | Y | ||
| DNA — Dennis Kelly | Y | Y | |
| The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (play script) — Simon Stephens | Y | ||
| A Taste of Honey — Shelagh Delaney | Y | ||
| Telling Tales — AQA Anthology | Y | ||
| Never Let me Go — Kazuo Ishiguro | Y | Y | |
| Pigeon English — Stephen Kelman | Y | ||
| My Mother Said I Never Should — Charlotte Keatley | Y |
Conservation and dissipation of energy
Energy transfer by heating
Density and matter
Electric circuits
Electricity In the home
Radioactivity
Forces in balance
Force and motion
Organisaiton & the digestive system
Organising animal and plants
Communicable disease
Preventing and treating disease
Non communicable disease
Adaptations, interdependence and competition
Organising an ecosystem
Biodiversity and ecosystems
The periodic table
Structure & Bonding
Chemical calculations
Chemical changes
Energy changes
Hydrocarbons
Chemical analysis
The Earths Resources
Course Features
Maths
- Sessions per week : One
- Total no of sessions : 42
- Total no of class tests : 8
- Students per class : 5
English
- Sessions per week : One
- Total no of sessions : 42
- Total no of class tests : 8
- Students per class : 5
Physics
- Sessions per week : One
- Total no of sessions : 42
- Total no of class tests : 8
- Students per class : 5
Chemistry
- Sessions per week : One
- Total no of sessions : 42
- Total no of class tests : 8
- Students per class : 5
Biology
- Sessions per week : One
- Total no of sessions : 42
- Total no of class tests : 8
- Students per class : 5