English has been divided into two distinct and separate GCSEs; English language and English literature. There is no longer a GCSE that mixes the two. The course work no longer counts at all for the final grade. All students will take the same exam and, unlike the new GCSE in mathematics, there will be no levels.
Degrees are valid as long as you have studied them. Whether you prefer language literature depends on personal preference and one is not necessarily more important than the other when deciding what to study in the future or what best matches other levels A. In terms of the skills you will learn, both English and literature are equally valuable. In addition, because it is only necessary to pass the English language, some students who have academic difficulties will not enter the gcse English literature exams, which represents part of the largest number of students enrolled in the English language exams.
Unfortunately, even if you pass GCSE English Literature, if you haven't achieved a grade 4 or higher in GCSE English Language, you will have to retake your language tests. Many who fall below this standard will retake the GCSE for English and Mathematics to improve their grades. The international version of the GCSE is the IGCSE, which can be taken anywhere in the world and includes additional options related to the courses and the language in which the qualification is taken. In Northern Ireland, the A* grade has been adjusted upwards with the introduction of the numerical scheme in England, so that an A* is equivalent to a new English degree 9.A large part of it is analyzing sources and explaining its meaning, so the skills you learn in gcse English can be very beneficial.
This means that if you fail the GCSE English literature, but achieve a GCSE English language pass, you will not be required to pass any English subject again. For most GCSE subjects, a final grade between 9 and 1 is not required, however, the exceptions are English language and mathematics. You will need to obtain a grade 4 or higher in the English language from GCSE; otherwise, you will have to retake the exam the following year. Any essay-based subject, specifically humanities, will require skills similar to those of English at level A, so they would be very complementary to any English subject at level A, since you can apply techniques from several subjects to improve your writing.
Another factor to consider when deciding if the English language or gcse literature is more important is the amount of review you need to do. There are three different English options at Level A; English Literature, English Language, and Combined English Literature and Language. However, due to legislative requirements for comparability between GCSEs in the three countries, and allocations for certain subjects and qualifications to be available in Wales and Northern Ireland, 9-1 ratings will be available, and the other changes will be mostly adopted in these countries as well.
