AQA Style GCSE English Language Paper 1 Bunker Diary KS4 Assessment

GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE PAPER 1 | The Bunker Diary | AQA style
“I thought he was blind. That’s how he got me.” (The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks)
This GCSE English language KS4 / GCSE mock-revision assessment is based on the sensational Bunker Diary. Students at my school have tried and tested it - they love it!
Refreshingly different from the usual practice assessments; this extract is immediately gripping - it is taken from the edgy and controversial Bunker Diary. Students swiftly engage with the narrative before forming their own robust opinions about its content. A clarity of understanding regarding the questions rapidly emerge as students are not bogged down with having to wade through an uninspiring and opaque extract.
If you decide to pre/post-teach this assessment then lively and thought provocking discussions will be assured. Let’s face it, you cannot say that about every GCSE Paper 1 practice assessment! The opinions that this resource provocks will also help with the skill development for Paper 2.
In order to illustrate this, consider Q4: “This part of the story, where the homeless Linus is kidnapped, shows that it is his fault for trying to help the blind man.”
Due to the varied student responses this assessment inspires, it comes complete with an extensive and comprehensive16 page GCSE mark scheme - this is based on the AQA mark scheme for Paper 1 English Language.
The full text (available from all good book shops or your school library) has strong links to the PSHE curriculum due its themes of: existentialism, human cruelty, the concept of God and the annihilation of hope (embedding whole school literacy). In addition, many KS4 students choose to go on to read the entire text after working through this assessment which also supports school literacy initiatives. [Please note that due to the themes/content contained within The Bunker Diary, the entire book is best suited to KS4 although my GCSE Paper 1 assessment can also be used with upper KS3.]

Files included:

• English Language Paper 1 Assessment [AQA inspired]
• Extract : The Bunker Diary taken from the book by Kevin Brooks.
• Extensive mark scheme – 16 pages!

Lesson duration (assessment): 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Pre-post teaching: teacher dependent.

Attribution:
Images: unsplash.com licence
Cover image: https://unsplash.com/photos/3R_GnBNRVI0
Bunker tunnel image: https://unsplash.com/photos/2T47CztPSyM
Extract: The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks. Extract fully credited to the book’s author Kevin Brooks.