GCSE English Literature - Foreword - Inspirational New Texts and Poetry

Oct 20, 2026

Foreword outlines AQA’s changes to the GCSE English Literature set texts to create a more balanced, diverse, and inclusive curriculum. It introduces a new poetry cluster “Worlds and Lives” and three modern uplifting texts from September 2023, while explaining the rationale for withdrawing three existing novels and plays. The statement of importance is included, describing assessment principles and what GCSE study develops in students. Key dates cover teaching and last examination timelines.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

New modern texts and poetry cluster

Decisions for withdrawing set texts

Key dates

Statement of importance

The changes in detail - Modern texts

GCSE English Literature: Inspirational new texts and poetry Spark something powerful Foreword We know that being able to design an inclusive curriculum matters to you and your students and it also matters to us. As market leaders, we realise the unique influence and position we have in education. We’re delighted to share that we’re making exciting changes to our GCSE English Literature set texts to make our offer more balanced and inclusive. By updating our specification, we aim to support you to further diversify your curriculum. These changes form part of our wider ranging, ongoing commitment (see our blog post at [bit.ly/EDI-blog](bit.ly/EDI-blog)) to make meaningful change. For first teaching from September 2023, we’reintroducing three powerful and uplifting modern texts and a brilliant, new poetry cluster – Worldsand lives. These great works of literature offer rich opportunities to engage with issues and ideas that will resonate with young people and introduce further award-winning writers to our specification. You can read more about each of the following new texts on pages 6 – 7. • Princess & The Hustler by Chinonyerem Odimba • Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock • My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal It matters to us that we make the right changes. To help us do this we’ve talked with teachers about diversity and the curriculum, consulted with external experts and academics, and spent time with publishers to inform the decisions we’ve made. Whilst exploring the options, we also wanted to maintain the assessment philosophy and design principles of the GCSE English Literature exam that work successfully for you and your students. Integral to this is our Statement of importance (see page 4) that sits at the heart of our qualification. Found in every mark scheme, it captures what it means to study literature and underpins how it’s assessed. We recognise that any changes we make have an impact on you, your students and the curriculum. Because we already have 12 modern set texts, to make space for new literature we had the challenging task of removing three of our existing texts – action we haven’t taken lightly. Decisions about which texts to withdraw were informed using a number of different lenses. We considered: • the popularity of different texts with our centres currently • the accessibility and relevance of the themes and issues they explore • how successfully students responded to the texts in the exam compared to others • a review of question setting over time. Applying these principles, we’ve decided to withdraw: • The History Boys by Alan Bennett • Never Let Me Go by Sir Kazuo Ishiguro • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephen and Mark Haddon. These texts will be last examined in summer 2024. Spark something real and join us as we take these steps towards ensuring current and future generations of young people experience an English literature curriculum that better resonates with their lives. If you have questions or need further support, please contact us [at english-gcse@aqa.org.uk](at english-gcse@aqa.org.uk) We all have the right to learn so we should all have the right tobe represented in the curriculum. As society changes so should the things we learn about . Chloe, student Key dates The timeline below will help you understand when the changes are taking place. September 2023: First teaching of new texts Summer 2024: Withdrawn texts last examined Summer 2025: New texts first examined Our Statement of importance GCSE English Literature is the study of how writers communicate their ideas about the world, and how readers might respond to these ideas. It aims to develop a critical understanding of the ways in which literary texts are a reflection of, and exploration of, the human condition, the study of which develops empathic understanding of human nature. High-quality English literature is writing which displays recogn

FAQs

What new texts are introduced for first teaching from September 2023?

AQA introduces three modern uplifting texts (Princess & The Hustler, Leave Taking, and My Name is Leon) and a new poetry cluster titled “Worlds and Lives” for study options.

Which existing set texts are being withdrawn and when are they last examined?

The withdrawn texts are The History Boys, Never Let Me Go, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. They will be last examined in summer 2024.

What is the purpose of the Statement of importance in the GCSE English Literature qualification?

The Statement of importance captures what it means to study literature and underpins assessment, explaining how writers communicate ideas, how readers respond, and how literary qualities and context support critical, empathic understanding.

Oct 20, 2026

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