Poll: Is a radical overhaul of GCSE exams needed?
Teenagers will be made to study the likes of Austen, Dickens, Shelley and Wordsworth under a major shake-up of GCSEs.
In maths, pupils will study more algebra, statistics and probability, while those taking history will be asked to complete an in-depth study of one of three historical periods and sit exams requiring extended essays.
Details of new GCSEs in key subjects such as maths, English, science and the humanities were unveiled by the Government today as part of its latest bid to toughen up the exams.
Ministers argue that a radical overhaul of the qualifications are needed if British students are to compete with their peers overseas.
Is the radical overhaul of the exam system needed? Vote in our poll below and have your say in the comments section:
New GCSEs in English language, English literature, maths, biology, chemistry, physics, combined science, geography and history are due to be introduced in England in September 2015, with teenagers sitting the first exams in the summer of 2017.
In English literature, pupils will be asked to study at least one play by Shakespeare, Romantic poetry, a 19th century novel, poetry from the 1850s onwards, and fiction or drama since the First World War, according to documents published by the Department for Education.
The new maths GCSE features advanced algebra, statistics, ratio, probability and geometry, while those students who choose to take geography will undertake two different types of fieldwork which will be assessed in an exam.
And in history, pupils will have to complete an in-depth study based on one of three periods - Medieval (500-1500), Early Modern (1450-1750) or Modern (1700 to present day). The new GCSE history course also contains no controlled assessment - coursework completed in the classroom - with exams based on extended essays and short answers.
New science GCSEs contain practical experiments and extended work on topics such as genetics, ecology, energy and space.
England's exams regulator Ofqual is due to publish a separate consultation today setting out proposals to change the structure of GCSEs.
It is expected to contain plans to overhaul grades, with the current A*-G system axed and replaced by a numbered 8-1 scheme, with 8 representing the highest grade.
