Edexcel iLowerSecondary English: Years 7 to 9
Three years, two strands, and a Year 9 test that puts three unseen texts in front of a student and gives them seventy minutes.
Sources for the figures on this page
The test structure, timings and section marks below were read directly from an official Pearson question paper: LEH11/01, Summer 2022 (P67630A), published on the Pearson website. The curriculum strands come from Pearson's published iLowerSecondary English Curriculum Overview.
Pearson's papers are linked, never copied, and no paper-sharing site is linked from this page. The detailed year-by-year curriculum objectives are released to subscribing centres and are not reproduced here.
RCF English is not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by Pearson Edexcel.
The qualification at a glance
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full title | Pearson Edexcel International Award in Lower Secondary English |
| Specification code | LEH11 |
| Paper code | LEH11/01 |
| Assessment | One externally-set achievement test, taken at the end of Year 9 |
| Time allowed | 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Total marks | 70 |
| Sections | Section A Reading, 40 marks. Section B Writing, 30 marks. Both compulsory. |
| Texts | Three, linked by a theme, supplied unseen in a Source Booklet with the paper |
| Dictionaries | Not allowed |
| First teaching / first assessment | 2018 / 2019 |
| Year groups taught | Years 7 to 9 |
The curriculum: two strands
The iLowerSecondary English curriculum is organised into three year groups. It contains two main strands, each divided into sub-strands, with Speaking and Listening woven through both rather than standing as a strand of its own. The strand names below are Pearson's.
1. Reading
Four sub-strands, carrying 40 of the 70 marks in the Year 9 test.
- Reading for Meaning - understanding what a text says and implies.
- Responding to Texts - forming and supporting a personal and then a critical response.
- Text Structure - how a text is built and why it is built that way.
- Language Use - the writer's choices at word and sentence level, and their effects.
2. Writing
Three sub-strands, carrying 30 marks in a single extended task.
- Writing Processes - planning, drafting, revising and proofreading.
- Whole Text - shape, structure, paragraphing and coherence across a whole piece.
- Language Use - vocabulary, sentence variety, grammar, punctuation and spelling.
How the curriculum grows across Years 7, 8 and 9
Pearson's published sample objectives show the same skills returning each year in a steadily more demanding form. The clearest example is the response objective, which moves through three stages:
Year 7 - identify a writer's intention and viewpoint; express a personal response; make simple comparisons between two texts.
Year 8 - explore a writer's intention and viewpoint; express a critical response by considering the text's features and their effects; make developed comparisons, including across different genres.
Year 9 - respond to a writer's intention and viewpoint; develop a critical response; select a range of relevant, focused evidence.
The progression to notice is from personal to critical, and from simple to developed comparison. A Year 9 student still writing I liked this text because it was interesting is answering a Year 7 objective.
The Year 9 Achievement Test: LEH11/01
| Section | Marks | Recommended time | What it contains |
|---|---|---|---|
| A: Reading | 40 | 1 hour 10 minutes | Questions on three unseen texts linked by a theme - typically two non-fiction and one fiction - supplied in a Source Booklet. Question types include multiple choice answered with a cross in a box, short response and extended response. |
| B: Writing | 30 | 35 minutes | One extended writing task, with bullet points to guide content. |
| Total | 70 | 1 hour 45 minutes | All questions in both sections are compulsory. |
Three pieces of advice printed on the paper itself
The official paper prints its own advice, and it is worth taking literally.
"It is recommended that you read one text at a time and answer the questions on this text." Students who read all three texts first, then start answering, lose time and confuse the texts. Read Text 1, answer the questions on Text 1, then move on.
"Try to answer every question." There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so a blank is a guaranteed nought.
"There may be more space than you need." The size of the answer box is not a hint about the length of the answer. Students routinely pad a two-mark answer to fill the space and lose time they need in Section B.
The practice material below is original RCF work
The activities that follow were written by RCF English. They are not Pearson materials, not past questions, and not sample assessment materials.
For official past papers and mark schemes, use the iLowerSecondary English page on the Pearson website.
Original RCF practice: preparing for three unseen texts
The Year 9 texts are unseen, so preparation cannot be about content. It has to be about a method that works on any text put in front of you.
Year 9 readiness checklist
- Can the student read an unfamiliar text and state its viewpoint in under five minutes?
- Do their responses discuss the text rather than their own feelings about it?
- Can they compare two writers in a single sentence?
- Do they select short, focused evidence rather than copying out long quotations?
- Have they written a 30-mark task in 35 minutes, with clean copies and no dictionary?
- Do they leave answers blank? (They should not - there is no penalty for a wrong answer.)
Next
iPrimary English
Years 1 to 6, and the Year 6 test.
Edexcel curriculum overview
Both stages compared.
International GCSE English
What Year 10 leads to.
Edexcel GCSE English Language
The United Kingdom route, for comparison.