Description
Our Online IGCSE English Literature course is a comprehensive platform designed to expose students to some of the most iconic works in English literary history. This English Literature IGCSE Online course focuses on cultivating the skills required to read, interpret, and evaluate literary texts, encompassing a variety of genres and time periods. Students will delve into deeper themes, meanings, and contexts, utilising these insights in their own creative writing exercises. By connecting the broader themes of classical literature to contemporary settings, we offer an enriching IGCSE English Literature Online Course that not only advances academic skills but also fosters a deeper self-understanding.
Completing this rigorous Online IGCSE English Literature programme enables students to seamlessly transition to A Level English Literature, thereby expanding their opportunities for higher studies at university.
Homework, Assessment and Reporting
As part of our IGCSE English Literature Online Course, students in the Upper School are expected to complete at least one piece of homework per subject every fortnight in Level 3, and weekly in Level 4. To ensure success in our IGCSE English Literature Online programme, it is essential for students to consistently revise their notes to solidify learning after each lesson. Creating revision cards and thorough notes for each topic is strongly encouraged to ensure students are well-prepared in advance of their final exams at the end of this two-year course.
For assessment, Level 3 internal evaluations take place in June, while Level 4 students undergo internal mock assessments in November and March. Reports, featuring grades for attainment and effort across all subjects, are issued at the end of the Autumn and Summer terms for Level 3, and after mock assessments in the Autumn and Spring terms for Level 4. These reports also include written feedback from Success Coaches and the Head Teacher.
To facilitate ongoing dialogue about student progress, we encourage parents to use their family Teams account. This offers the unique advantage of more detailed tracking throughout the year, supplementing the insights gained from our annual parent consultation evenings.
Click here to see this year’s Assessment and Reporting schedule
Our teachers will motivate, enthuse and inspire pupils to enjoy the subject. This will mean that the course will develop in response to pupils’ interests and desires as far as possible. Additionally pupils will be fully prepared for their exam.
Click here for the texts to be studied in 2022-2024:
CHS iGCSE Literature in English Texts
The course fully prepares you for the exam which comprises the following written papers:
- Paper 1: Set texts, poetry and prose. One hour and fifteen minutes
- Paper 3: Set text, drama. Forty five minutes
- Paper 4: Unseen. One hour and fifteen minutes
Parents are responsible for arranging their child’s examinations at their local registered examination centre. Cambridge Home School students study from every part of the globe and so it is not practical for the school to offer a single venue to sit examinations. Consequently, Cambridge Home School is not registered with Cambridge International Examinations but has partnerships with examination centres registered with Cambridge International Examinations, Edexcel, OCR and AQA, and will support students in locating a suitable venue for sitting their written and practical examinations.
Suggested Summer 2023 reading:
Tennessee Williams ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ (extension: Tennessee Williams, ‘A Streetcar Named Desire,’ ‘The Glass Menagerie’)
Maya Angelou ‘And Still I Rise,’ Maya Angelou ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings,’ and any research/reading into the Civil Rights movement, the Jim Crow laws
Colson Whitehead ‘Underground Railroad’, and see this National Geographic article: The Underground Railroad
Further reading and ideas:
Arthur Miller ‘Death of A Salesman’
Toni Morrison ‘The Bluest Eye’
Zora Neale Hurston ‘Their Eyes Were Watching God’
Alice Walker ‘The Color Purple’
Eber Pettit ‘Sketches in the History of the Underground Railroad’
David G. Smith ‘On the Edge of Freedom’
‘Unseen’ background reading:
Poetry by Owen Sheers, Gillian Clarke, and Imtiaz Dharker as modern poets. Modern fiction to grab the attention: ‘The Animals in That Country,’ Laura Jean McKay; ‘Autumn,’ Ali Smith; ‘Kindred,’ Octavia Butler; ‘Love and other thought experiments,’ Sophie Ward; ‘The Bone Readers,’ Jacob Ross; ‘Children of Time,’ Adrian Tchaikovsky and ‘Piranesi,’ Susanna Clarke.
Texts for study in L5:
1) Tennessee Williams ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’
“What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?—I wish I knew… Just staying on it, I guess, as long as she can…”
An incredible, moving, inspiring Drama – I cannot wait to read this with you! Recommended edition: Methuen Drama.
2) Maya Angelou ‘And Still I Rise’
The following selection of poems:
| Title: | First Line: |
| A Kind of Love, Some Say | Is it true the ribs can tell |
| Country Lover | Funky blues |
| Remembrance | Your hands easy |
| Where We Belong, A Duet | In every town and village, |
| Phenomenal Woman | Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. |
| Men | When I was young, I used to |
| Refusal | Beloved, / In what other lives or lands |
| Just For A Time | Oh how you used to walk |
| Junkie Monkey Reel | Shoulders sag, |
| The Lesson | I keep on dying again. |
| California Prodigal | The eye follows, the land |
| My Arkansas | There is a deep brooding |
| Through the Inner City to the Suburbs | Secured by sooted windows |
| Lady Luncheon Club | Her counsel was accepted: the times are grave. |
| Momma Welfare Roll | Her arms semaphore fat triangles, |
| The Singer Will Not Sing | A benison given. Unused, |
| Willie | Willie was a man without fame |
| To Beat the Child Was Bad Enough | A young body, light |
| Woman Work | I’ve got the children to tend |
| One More Round | There ain’t no pay beneath the sun |
| The Traveler | Byways and bygone |
| Kin | We were entwined in red rings |
| The Memory | Cotton rows crisscross the world |
| Still I Rise | You may write me down in history |
| Ain’t That Bad? | Dancin’ the funky chicken |
| Life Doesn’t Frighten Me | Shadows on the wall |
| Bump d’Bump | Play me a game like Blind Man’s dance |
| On Aging | When you see me sitting quietly, |
| In Retrospect | Last year changed its seasons |
| Just Like Job | My Lord, My Lord, |
| Call Letters: Mrs. V.B. | Ships? / Sure I’ll sail them. |
| Thank You, Lord | I see You |
Where to start with Maya Angelou? Writer, Dancer, Civil Rights activist, multilingual… Her story, realised in seven volumes of autobiographical writing (beginning with ‘I know why the caged bird sings’ above – essential reading) serves as a kind of archetype of the African American struggle. So important a figure was she, that she was asked to recite at the 1993 inauguration of President Bill Clinton. Read on…
3) Colson Whitehead ‘Underground Railroad’
A phenomenal blend of fact: the ‘underground network’ that evolved to help the enslaved in the Southern States make the (dangerous) journey to the more sympathetic Northern States; fantasy: here, the network is imagined, to coruscating effect, as a physical underground railway…
Published by Fleet.
WINNER OF THE ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD 2017
WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2017
What is the aim of the online IGCSE English Literature course?
The online IGCSE English Literature course is designed to enrich pupils’ ability to read, interpret, and evaluate classic English literary works. Students explore deeper themes, meanings, and contexts while learning to apply this understanding to their own creative writing. They also connect historical literary themes to modern contexts, helping them grow a deeper understanding of themselves.
How is the assessment conducted in the online IGCSE English Literature class?
In the online IGCSE English Literature class, Level 3 students undergo internal assessments in June, while Level 4 students participate in mock assessments in November and March. Reports for these assessments are provided at specified intervals, indicating grades for effort and attainment along with comments from Success Coaches and the Head Teacher.
What are the homework expectations in the online IGCSE English Literature course?
Students in Level 3 are expected to complete a minimum of one piece of homework for each subject every fortnight, while Level 4 students are expected to do so weekly. Creating revision cards and notes for each topic is highly encouraged to prepare students for their final exams.
What is the course outline for English Literature IGCSE online?
The English Literature IGCSE online course is flexible, adapting to pupils’ interests as much as possible while preparing them fully for exams. The exam comprises three written papers: Paper 1 focuses on set texts, poetry and prose; Paper 3 deals with set text drama; and Paper 4 is an unseen text evaluation.
How can parents keep track of their child’s progress in English Literature IGCSE online?
Parents are encouraged to use their family Teams account for ongoing communication with teachers about their child’s academic progress, offering more detailed tracking compared to an annual parent consultation evening.
The Teachers
English Literature at Cambridge Home School Online is taught by Mr Dowling, Mrs Howard, Ms Jaami and Mr Fordham. Click on the names below to find out more about our English Literature teachers.