GCSE English Language

Course Handbook 2021-22

Look inside for information about your course,

teaching staff, key dates, support and course
requirements.
Welcome
Welcome to York Learning and your English Language GCSE. We will be following the AQA
English Language 8700 syllabus. This booklet provides information related to your course. It
includes key information around contacts and dates, a course outline for term one and
suggestions around preparation and support.

It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with the contents of this course guide and make
sure that you use it as the first source of information and guidance on matters relating to
your qualification and your responsibilities as a learner with York Learning. However, if you
have any questions or concerns please talk to your tutor or any of our team who are there
to help and support you. Our aim is to provide you with the help and support required, both
face to face and online, for you to successfully complete your qualification.

Contacting staff
The best way to contact your tutors is by text message (if urgent) or through your
yorklearningeducation email account which will be allocated to you at the start of the course.
Please bear in mind that you may not always get an immediate response if staff work part-
time, are teaching or are in meetings. Alternatively, if it’s about attendance or more general
issues, you can also contact the admin team, who will pass on a message.

Staff team
Name Role Tel. Email
Victoria Till Course Tutor victoria.till@york.gov.uk
Head of English, 01904 554295
Fiona Himsworth fiona.himsworth@york.gov.uk
Maths and ESOL 07748 181988
Curriculum Manager
Helen Clarkson 07943 593461 helen.clarkson@york.gov.uk
English and Maths
Natalie Peacock Lead ESOL Tutor 07786 027911 natalie.peacock@york.gov.uk
Course dates
Our English Language GCSE course runs term time between September and June (75
contact hours). There will be around 4 hours reading, preparation and independent study
between sessions, depending on your individual needs.

Autumn Term w/c 27 Sep – w/c 06 Dec 2021 (half term w/c 25 Oct)

Spring Term w/c 10 Jan – w/c 4 Apr 2022 (half term w/c 21 Feb)

Summer Term w/c 25 Apr – w/c 6 Jun 2022 (half term w/c 30 May)

PLEASE NOTE OUR TERMS ARE SLIGHTLY SHORTER THAN SCHOOL TERMS

Provisional Exam dates (attendance essential):

Paper 1 Explorations in creative reading and writing
Date: Wednesday 18 May 2022 (1hr 45 min)
Venue: West Offices
Time: Arrive before 8.30am for 9.00am start
Paper 2 Writers’ viewpoints and perspectives
Date: Friday 10 June 2022 (1hr 45 min)

Venue: West Offices

Time: Arrive before 8.30am for 9.00am start

Mock Exam Dates:

Paper 1 - End of autumn term
Paper 2 - First week in March

Access Arrangements
If you have dyslexia, ADHD, autism, mental health needs or any other learning difficulty and
have had special exam arrangements in the past (such as extra time or a reader), please let
your tutor know as soon as possible so that we can make reasonable adjustments both in
class and during the examinations.
Course Tutor
Victoria Till

Victoria is a highly qualified teacher with a degree in

English, a Post-Graduate Diploma in English Literature
and a PGCE. She started teaching in 2003 at a Further
Education College where she taught Adult Literacy/Key
Skills/Functional Skills and GCSE English Language and
Literature. In 2008, Victoria was promoted to the Head
of the English Department at the same college.

Victoria has a broad range of experience working with

different age groups and experiences. Victoria will also
give you the benefit of her expertise as a marker for AQA,
the same exam board we use for GCSE English.
Victoria has a great passion for English and hopes to instil
that passion into all of her learners too.

‘’The course is very well organised, great support even if we were doing it through the zoom
meeting and the course was run by great teachers.”
GCSE English learner 2020/21

“It is not always easy and requires patience with yourself and commitment to completing
homework outside of the class but if you are prepared to put in the work you will succeed.”
GCSE English learner 2020/21

“Fantastic course! I started the course after home schooling during lockdown and being
unable to help my daughter with studies. I am so much more confident now.”
GCSE English learner 2020/21

91% of our adult GCSE English learners achieved a grade 4 or above in summer 2021
Candidate entry requirements
You will be aged 19 or over on 31 August 2021, have UK or EU resident status and be
working towards your first A-C equivalent level in the subject. Unless progressing from a
recent 3/D Grade or a Functional Skills Level 2 qualification with York Learning, learners
will be required to complete a pre-course assessment. Other learners may be accepted
subject to meeting assessment and eligibility criteria although charges may have to be
made in some cases.

Computer skills and internet access is required as we offer online support and assignment
work. Please note that many of our local libraries offer free internet access. You will need
to complete set assignments and homework tasks outside of the taught sessions. We
anticipate this will take somewhere in the region of 2-4 hrs per week, although additional
reading around the subject will always be encouraged.

We start on the GCSE curriculum straight away. However, the first term is also seen as an
extended assessment period and subject to your attendance and satisfactory completion
of any work required, we will register you in January for the June GCSE exams, or, where
necessary, discuss support or alternative routes. At all stages of the course, the tutor will
involve you fully in any decisions around your learning programme.

Qualifications
We will be working towards the new GCSE grading structure, so instead of the traditional
A-C style grades, the grading will be between 1-9, with 5 being the equivalent of a safe C
and 9 being the best A*. The English Language GCSE is made up of 3 elements, 2 formal
exams and a speaking and listening tutor assessed activity. These are explained in greater
details on the AQA website (see link on your Google Classroom) and in your course book.
The tutor will guide you through the requirements as you follow the course.

Getting your results

Results are published in late August and we will email these out to you. We ask that
learners come in to collect their certificates where possible, although these can be posted
out if necessary.
Course Venues / Online classes
All online courses will be taught through Zoom. The Wednesday morning class is
planned to be in Acomb Explore Library but has an emergency Zoom code in case
COVID 19 restrictions force us to go online.

Monday evening Join Zoom Meeting

6.30pm-9pm https://zoom.us/j/94551387613
Online (Zoom)
Meeting ID: 945 5138 7613
Passcode: 485474

Wednesday morning If the course moves online, Zoom

9.30am-12.00pm details will be provided.
Acomb Explore Library
Front Street
Acomb
YO24 3BZ

Thursday evening Join Zoom Meeting

6.30pm-9pm https://zoom.us/j/95599095357
Online (Zoom)
Meeting ID: 955 9909 5357
Passcode: 977872

Attendance
It is essential that all learners are aware of the time commitment of this programme and
do their best to aim for 100% attendance. We do however understand that there are times
when it is not possible to attend due to illness, family or work commitments and such like.
You should be aware that our minimum acceptable attendance is 80%, and if you miss 4
consecutive sessions without a valid reason we will withdraw you from the programme. If
you are unable to attend we ask that you inform us and your tutor, that way we can ensure
our records are kept up to date and you are kept informed of any work you are required
to do.
Course books and reading list

If you want to look at topics in more detail, here are some books and resources we
recommend:
“Get the Grade” AQA GCSE English
Language Workbook, Keith Brindle, Hodder
Education
ISBN 978-147-1-83394-6

“Success” Grades 5-9,

Keith Brindle, Hodder Education
ISBN 978-471-83285-7

“Success” Grades 1-9,

Keith Brindle, Hodder Education
ISBN 978-1471832048

CGP GCSE English Language AQA Exam

Practice Workbook
ISBN 978-1782943709
 CGP GCSE English Language AQA Revision
Guide
ISBN 978-1782943693

Daydream Pocket Revision Guide

ISBN 1906248354

Recommended Reading
In preparation for the course, please try to read widely from different genres, different
eras and different sources. Try out audio books, listen to radio programmes and fill your
life with as many words as you can! Think about the effect different pieces have on you
and what words or language techniques the writer or speakers have used to achieve this.

Useful website
You may also find the BBC Bitesize website a useful place for revision materials.
GCSE English Language - AQA - BBC Bitesize
Support during the course
We will be using Google Classroom for GCSE English and you will be allocated a
yorklearningeducation gmail account and be shown how these work during the first few
weeks of your course.

Nothing replaces attendance on a course, direct contact with the tutor and sharing ideas
with and listening to other learners. There will be opportunities to discuss your individual
issues with your tutor. Please ensure you allocate yourself sufficient regular timeslots to
do homework and independent study.

If English is not your first language, please ask for information specific to your native
tongue for areas of pronunciation and grammar to look out for.

Google Classroom email: firstname.lastname@yorklearningeducation.co.uk

Password: Summer*21*
(Please change this and note your new password here)

Google Classroom

Equal opportunities and reasonable adjustments

As a service, York Learning want to ensure that we help you to fully participate in your
learning. We also want to ensure we are fair to all learners and that we are considerate of
your needs in terms of your learning and participation in the assessments. We will
wherever possible make reasonable adjustments as required to facilitate this.
If you think you can only take part fully in the course with some extra support, please let
us know. We might be able to help with:
 Reading, writing and maths support
 Special equipment and other aids
 Information on access to buildings
 Extra time to finish the course or an exam (formal assessment required- charges may apply)
 Someone to explain and help you do things in class
 Help with getting around the building
 Religious or faith needs
For more information please talk to your tutor in the first instance or phone Fiona
Himsworth, the programme manager on 07748 181988 or email
fiona.himsworth@york.gov.uk
Course fees
While the courses are free for all eligible adult learners who do not already have a grade
A-C GCSE, we are funded by the Skills Funding Agency. Funding is based on attendance
and success in exams. Please work with us to ensure you achieve your goals and we
receive the funding required to continue to offer these free courses. Fee paying
candidates can arrange to pay in instalments if required.

Learner support fund

If you are struggling to fund your learning or materials for your courses, we have a
limited amount of funding available to learners. This is available for learners on all of our
accredited courses whose level of income might prevent them from completing a course.
We will consider applications to fund:
 Home to course travel
 Essential equipment for the course
 Course materials
 Course visits
 Childcare expenses (Ofsted registered only)
 Course fees

For more information please talk to your tutor in the first instance or phone Fiona
Himsworth, the programme manager on 07748 181988 or email
fiona.himsworth@york.gov.uk.

What we ask of you

 Attend every session that you can, arrive on time and let us know if you are not
able to attend
 Complete work in the timescale agreed
 Take an active part in class discussions and activities – we don’t mind the
occasional wrong answer or “silly question” (and if there is one, we can all learn
from it!)
 Follow health and safety instructions and report any incidents or safety concerns
to your tutor or another member of staff
 Treat our staff and other learners in the class with respect, and keep the content of
more sensitive issues where they arise, within the classroom
 Talk to your tutor regularly about how you are getting on
 Fill in review sheets to give us your views (supplied electronically or by email)
Your feedback is welcome
During your time at York Learning you will be given opportunities to tell us what we can do
better and how we could improve our service to you and other learners. If you don’t tell
us, we’ll never know! If at any time you want to give any feedback please contact your
tutor or the centre on 01904 752102. Tell us what you think we do well and what we could
improve on.

We have very high levels of satisfaction on our courses but from time to time things do
go wrong. If you are not satisfied with your course then please raise issues as soon as
possible by doing one of the following:
 Discuss the issue with your tutor, centre staff (evening classes) or course manager
as soon as possible
 Give feedback in our on-course and end of course reviews
 If you feel that there is still an issue, please complete a complaints form which is
available on our website www.yorklearning.co.uk (Policies page).

Progression
Most adult learners do GCSEs for a specific purpose, whether it’s to access further courses
or for employment. We also know that adult education often opens doors to other
opportunities. If at any time during your course you wish to discuss future career options,
please tell us.
Further information
If you need any further information about your course, the qualification or processes, or
you have any queries, worries or concerns at all, please get in touch with your tutor.

Prevent
Since 2015 all schools, child care providers, colleges and other further education providers
have been subject to a duty under Section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act
2015, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”.
This is known as the Prevent duty.
Government guidance spells out that staff must be able to identify learners who may be
vulnerable to radicalisation, and know what to do when they are identified. Tutors are
expected to build learners’ resilience to radicalisation by promoting British Values and, by
discussing these issues and challenging extremist views.

British Values
We promote British Values within all York Learning courses. They are simply the important
human values which we want to follow here in the UK; Democracy, Individual Liberty
Rule of Law, Respect and Tolerance.
 Once again, welcome to the course.
We wish you every success and remember,
we’re here to help!
Victoria & the York Learning team
