One of our central areas of focus is GCSE English, where we’ve outlined our recommendations for reforming the subject to better prepare students for future study and for the workplace.

Our recommendations include:

• a broader range of literary text types and time periods, with a requirement for more diverse content
• a wider range of non-literary texts – multimodal, digital, media, written and spoken
• re-balancing the focus on both written and spoken English with explicit teaching of, and recognition for, spoken language knowledge and skills
• a changed approach to developing writing skills (drafting, crafting and editing), to encourage a greater focus on writing in authentic contexts
• removal of undue repetition and excessive content and/or assessment
• increased opportunities for creative engagement.

Read the full summary 

Let’s talk English in 2025

Over the coming weeks and months, we look forward to sharing more detail and continuing work with other sector experts, partners, educators and learners to further develop and bring these recommendations to life.

If you’d like to be part of our conversations on the future of English, let us know and we'll keep you up to date with our programme of events, forums, insights gathering and more throughout 2025.

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