GCSE English Literature is one of the most enriching parts of secondary education, introducing students to a range of literary voices, genres, and historical contexts. From Shakespearean tragedy to Victorian gothic, post-war plays to powerful contemporary poetry, students explore texts that develop critical thinking, empathy, and a love for language.

But what exactly do students read – and how can schools and educators support this journey with the right books?

What’s on the GCSE English Literature Syllabus?

Most exam boards (AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, and Cambridge IGCSE) require students to study the following four components:

A SHAKESPEARE PLAY

A play by Shakespeare is often chosen for its rich themes, dramatic tension, and complex characters. Popular choices include Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Much Ado About Nothing.

STAGED Shakespeare Collection

It’s worth looking at the STAGED collection of Shakespeare’s plays: a limited collection of Shakespeare's unabridged plays celebrating the genius of the Bard and the tropes that continue to delight YA readers to this day:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - With a foreword by Becky Albertalli

As You Like It - With a foreword by Talia Hibbert

Hamlet - With a foreword by Faridah Àbìké-Íyìmìdé

Macbeth - With a foreword by Kat Delacorte

Much Ado About Nothing - With a foreword by Holly Bourne

Romeo and Juliet - With a foreword by Jennifer Niven

Scholastic Classics’ Shakespeare

Scholastic Classics editions of Shakespeare are ideal for students at Key Stage 3 and GCSE, offering the full, unabridged text in a clear, accessible format. Each edition includes helpful on-page glossaries to explain difficult words, footnotes to clarify context, and concise scene-by-scene summaries to support understanding. With character lists, insightful introductions to the play’s themes and background, and a clean layout that makes annotation easy, these editions are designed with learners in mind. Affordable and durable, Scholastic Classics are a trusted classroom resource—perfect for both study and revision of key Shakespeare plays including Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.

Dyslexia-Friendly Shakespeare

New for 2025 are Barrington Stoke's long-awaited complete and unabridged first dyslexia-friendly plays, the first of which includes Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.

Usborne English Readers – Shakespeare Editions

The Usborne English Readers include adapted versions of Shakespeare’s plays written in simplified modern English. They are part of Usborne's graded reader series, designed for EAL learners, young readers, or those new to Shakespeare. They are often accompanied by illustrations, glossaries, and reading comprehension activities and are ideal for first exposure to the stories or lower-literacy levels.

To complement set texts, schools should offer related titles to encourage deeper understanding, empathy, and wider reading. Here is a selection of texts we recommend:

Contextual Companions

In Shakespeare: The World as a Stage, Bill Bryson introduces a host of engaging characters, as he celebrates the magic of Shakespeare's language and delights in details of the bard's life, folios, poetry and plays.

Jonathan Bate, one of the world's leading Shakespearean scholars, has shown how the legend of Shakespeare's genius was created and sustained, and how the man himself became a truly global phenomenon. We have highlighted two of his books about Shakespeare here - Mad about Shakespeare : Life Lessons from the Bard and The Genius of Shakespeare.

Wider Reading / Linked Themes

Refugee Boy – Benjamin Zephaniah (themes of social justice, modern empathy)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon (modern drama alternative)

The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas (modern social issues, comparable to An Inspector Calls)

Long Way Down – Jason Reynolds (poetic form, great for poetry units)

Ghost Boys – Jewell Parker Rhodes (prepares for themes of injustice)

A 19th CENTURY NOVEL

A 19th-century novel is often selected to offer insight into Victorian society and narrative technique. Common texts include A Christmas Carol, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Jane Eyre and Frankenstein.

The Scholastic GCSE 9-1 Series

The Scholastic GCSE 9–1 series is a popular and highly practical set of revision and study guides designed specifically for the current GCSE English Literature and Language specifications. The books are widely used in UK schools to support students working towards the Grade 9–1 GCSEs. Each guide focuses on a single set text and they include exam-style questions, mark schemes, and sample answers annotated to different grade levels.

Penguin Readers

The Penguin Readers series is unique because it offers a graded reading experience that combines classic literature, modern fiction, and non-fiction titles with accessible, levelled language—making reading enjoyable and achievable for EAL learners, struggling readers, or those new to reading longer texts.

MODERN PROSE OR DRAMA

This section requires students to study and analyse a 20th or 21st-century novel or play, often a text that reflects social issues, moral dilemmas, or human relationships in more accessible and contemporary language than older texts like Shakespeare or Victorian novels. Frequent selections include An Inspector Calls, Blood Brothers, Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm.

The Methuen Drama Student Editions

The Methuen Drama Student Editions are expertly annotated texts of modern and classic plays. Each includes the text of the play plus contemporary commentary, written by experts in the field, that provides students with an in-depth look into the background, themes and history of the play. 

POETRY

At GCSE, students study a themed anthology e.g., "Power and Conflict" or "Love and Relationships.”

At GCSE level, poetry is a core component of the English Literature course, and teachers use a combination of exam board anthologies, study guides, and independent poetry collections to teach it effectively. Here's a breakdown of the most commonly used poetry books and resources in UK schools:

Study Guides (To Support Teaching and Revision)

These books are widely used to annotate, explain, and analyse anthology poems:

York Notes (for AQA, Edexcel, Eduqas): In-depth commentary, context, and model answers

CGP Poetry Guides: Friendly tone, helpful summaries, and exam practice

Collins Snap Revision Poetry Guides: Quick-reference format for last-minute study

Letts Revision Guides: Covers comparison skills and essay planning

*Unfortunately we do not have the ability to sell revision guides on LoveReading4Kids.

Independent Poetry Collections (for Wider Reading or Unseen Poetry Practice)

Though not required, many teachers use these to introduce students to a broader range of poets and voices, and to practise unseen poetry analysis:

Poems from the Edge of Extinction by Chris McCabe (diverse world poetry)

The Poetry Pharmacy by William Sieghart (themes of mental health and emotion)

A Poem for Every Day of the Year edited by Allie Esiri

SLAM! You're Gonna Wanna Hear This by Nikita Gill and others (spoken word for teens)

Everything All at Once by Steven Camden (slam-style poems for teens)

The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy (used occasionally at KS4 or transition to A Level)

Top Tip for Schools

Encourage reading around the curriculum. When students see the connections between literature, history, and modern life, they engage more deeply. A well-stocked school library or classroom collection that reflects both the curriculum and student interests makes all the difference.

Is GCSE English diverse enough?

There has been much discussion in recent years about the lack of diversity in the GCSE English Curriculum. Lit in Colour was created in 2020 by Penguin Books UK and race equality think tank, The Runnymede Trust and their research told us that there is a need for children to study texts within a curriculum that is much more representative of our diverse society.

Nearly every young person studies English until the age of 16. It is a mandatory subject yet just 1% of GCSE English literature students study a book by a writer of colour. The Lit in Colour Pioneers Pilot gave a ‘life changing’ boost to diversity in GCSE English Literature ensuring that the overall percentage of students answering a question on a text from an author of colour for GCSE  more than doubled from 0.7% in 2019 to 1.5% in 2023. To find out more about Lit In Colour visit the RunnyMede Trust website.