GCSE English Literature set texts, by exam board
The novels, plays and poetry clusters that AQA, OCR and Pearson Edexcel name in their GCSE English Literature specifications, taught in England in Years 10 and 11. Each list is copied from the board's own specification (linked under each board), read on 2026-10-03. Your school chooses which of these texts you study, so check with your English teacher.
AQA GCSE English Literature (8702)
Source: AQA specification (1) · AQA specification (2) — Specification for first teaching in 2015 (web spec pages, read 2026-10-03)
Shakespeare
- Macbeth — William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet — William Shakespeare
- The Tempest — William Shakespeare
- The Merchant of Venice — William Shakespeare
- Much Ado About Nothing — William Shakespeare
- Julius Caesar — William Shakespeare
19th-century novel
- The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde — Robert Louis Stevenson
- A Christmas Carol — Charles Dickens
- Great Expectations — Charles Dickens
- Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë
- Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
- Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen
- The Sign of Four — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Modern drama
- An Inspector Calls — J. B. Priestley
- Blood Brothers — Willy Russell
- The History Boys — Alan Bennett
- DNA — Dennis Kelly
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (play script) — Simon Stephens
- A Taste of Honey — Shelagh Delaney
- Princess & The Hustler — Chinonyerem Odimba
- Leave Taking — Winsome Pinnock
Modern prose
- Lord of the Flies — William Golding
- Telling Tales — AQA Anthology
- Animal Farm — George Orwell
- Never Let Me Go — Kazuo Ishiguro
- Anita and Me — Meera Syal
- Pigeon English — Stephen Kelman
- My Name is Leon — Kit de Waal
Poetry anthology clusters
- Love and Relationships
- Power and Conflict
- Worlds and Lives (first teaching 2023, first exam 2025)
OCR GCSE English Literature (J352)
Source: OCR specification — Version 3.0 (November 2025), linked from https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse/english-literature-j352-from-2015/
Note: The spec's prose says 'the five 19th century prose set texts' but its list prints six; both quoted as printed.
Modern prose or drama
- Anita and Me — Meera Syal
- Never Let Me Go — Kazuo Ishiguro
- Animal Farm — George Orwell
- An Inspector Calls — J. B. Priestley
- DNA — Dennis Kelly
- Leave Taking — Winsome Pinnock
19th-century prose
- Great Expectations — Charles Dickens
- Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen
- The War of the Worlds — H. G. Wells
- The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde — Robert Louis Stevenson
- Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë
- A Christmas Carol — Charles Dickens
Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet — William Shakespeare
- The Merchant of Venice — William Shakespeare
- Macbeth — William Shakespeare
- Much Ado About Nothing — William Shakespeare
Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature (1ET0)
Source: Pearson Edexcel specification — Specification Issue 2, June 2019 (the issue linked from https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/english-literature-2015.html on 2026-10-03)
Shakespeare
- Macbeth — William Shakespeare
- The Tempest — William Shakespeare
- Romeo and Juliet — William Shakespeare
- Much Ado About Nothing — William Shakespeare
- Twelfth Night — William Shakespeare
- The Merchant of Venice — William Shakespeare
Post-1914 British play or novel
- An Inspector Calls — J. B. Priestley
- Hobson's Choice — Harold Brighouse
- Blood Brothers — Willy Russell
- Journey's End — R. C. Sherriff
- Animal Farm — George Orwell
- Lord of the Flies — William Golding
- Anita and Me — Meera Syal
- The Woman in Black — Susan Hill
- The Empress — Tanika Gupta
- Refugee Boy — Benjamin Zephaniah (adapted for stage by Lemn Sissay)
- Coram Boy — Jamila Gavin
- Boys Don't Cry — Malorie Blackman
19th-century novel
- Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë
- Great Expectations — Charles Dickens
- Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde — R. L. Stevenson
- A Christmas Carol — Charles Dickens
- Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen
- Silas Marner — George Eliot
- Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
Pearson Edexcel set texts on ReadingList, with reading levels →
WJEC Eduqas C720QS
Not listed yet: we have not been able to read this board's specification, and we do not guess set texts. Check the board's website for the current list.
Linked titles have a full ReadingList page (reading level, length, where it is taught in the US). Titles without a link are on the board's list but not yet in our catalogue. Looking for US school lists? ReadingList US.