Modern texts
We’ve introduced two plays and a novel to our selection of texts for Paper 2 Section A: Modern texts.
Students have the option to study one of the new texts from the list below:
Drama
| Writer | Title |
|---|---|
| JB Priestley | An Inspector Calls |
| Willy Russell | Blood Brothers (musical version) |
| Chinonyerem Odimba | Princess & The Hustler* |
| Dennis Kelly | DNA |
| Winnsome Pinnock | Leave Taking* |
| Shelagh Delaney | A Taste of Honey |
Prose
| Writer | Title |
|---|---|
| William Golding | Lord of the Flies |
| AQA Anthology | Telling Tales |
| George Orwell | Animal Farm |
| Meera Syal | Anita and Me |
| Kit de Waal | My Name is Leon* |
| Stephen Kelman | Pigeon English |
*first teaching from September 2023 and first exams in summer 2025.
All three of the new texts are by women writers and while they tell very different stories, they all have some qualities in common.
- They’re funny, moving and uplifting stories.
- The narratives all centre around family relationships and explore universal themes like love and loss, belonging and connection.
- They each have historical and modern relevance, addressing important social and political issues and ideas which will resonate for young people.
- Each text tackles challenging and sensitive topics through the characters’ hardships but these aren’t stories of struggle. They’re layered and complex stories and in the end are empowering and positive.
