Sarah Pemberton

GCSE English Teacher, Leeds (former AQA Examiner)

Sarah has taught GCSE English Language and Literature in Leeds for 11 years and served four years as an AQA 8700 examiner. PGCE English (University of Leeds), specialises in Paper 1 creative writing technique, Paper 2 viewpoints decoding, and grade 9-1 boundary strategy for Year 11 students.

Credentials

PGCE English, University of Leeds
11 years GCSE teaching, Leeds
AQA 8700 examiner (4 years)

Areas of expertise

GCSE English Language
AQA Paper 1 + Paper 2
Creative writing strategy
Grade 9-1 mark boundaries

Blog

1 article

Year 11 student annotating an unseen extract at a desk in a school library

Subject Help·May 6, 2026·13 min read

GCSE English Language Exam Method: Paper 1 and Paper 2 Explained

A GCSE English Language teacher breaks down the exact method for AQA, Edexcel and OCR Paper 1 and Paper 2 — from unseen extract questions to the writing tasks.