Oxford Cambridge and RSA
*9936623222*
M
onday 13 May 2025 – Morning
INSTRUCTIONS
• Use black ink.
• Write your answer to each question in the Answer Booklet. The question numbers must
be clearly shown.
• Fill in the boxes on the front of the Answer Booklet.
• All the questions in Section A have two parts, (a) and (b). Answer both parts of the
question on the text you have studied.
• Answer one question on the text you have studied in Section B.
INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 80.
• The marks for each question are shown in brackets [ ].
• Quality of extended response will be assessed in questions marked with an asterisk (*).
• This document has 24 pages.
ADVICE
• Read each question carefully before you start your answer.
© OCR 2024 [601/4872/X] DC (LK) 326278/9
OCR is an exempt Charity
Turn over
BLANK PAGE
, 2
Contents Page
Section A – Modern prose or drama Question Page
Anita and Me by Meera Syal 1 4
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 2 6
Animal Farm by George Orwell 3 8
An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley 4 10
Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock 5 12
DNA by Dennis Kelly 6 14
Section B – 19th century prose Questions Page
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 7/8 16
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 9/10 17
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells 11/12 18
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert
Louis Stevenson 13/14 19
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 15/16 20
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 17/18 21–22
Section A – Modern prose or drama
Answer one question from this section.
1 Anita and Me by Meera Syal and Waterland by Graham
Swift Read the two extracts below and then answer both part
(a) and part (b).
You should spend about 45 minutes on part (a) and 30 minutes on part (b).
For part (a), you should focus only on the extracts here rather than referring to the
rest of your studied text.
(a) Compare how these two extracts present characters’ feelings about the people they
want to help them. You should consider:
• the situations and experiences faced by the characters
• how the characters react to these situations and experiences •
how the writers’ use of language and techniques creates
effects.
AND
© OCR 2024 J352/01 Jun24
, 3
(b) Explore another moment in Anita and Me where Meena memorably describes
someone.
Extract 1 from: Anita and Me by Meera Syal
In this extract, Meena goes to the Big House to seek help for Tracey who has fallen in the
pond.
I reached the front door of the Big House, retching for breath, spasms gripping my 5
leg. There were no lights on but I put my finger on the doorbell and kept it there and
even if a woman with a warty chin and a broomstick opened it, I decided I would still
ask for help. A soft glow appeared somewhere behind the huge oak door, I could see
it approaching through the stained glass panel just above my head which depicted a
mine with a pithead behind which a red sun was rising. 1
0
‘Oo is it?’ A witch’s voice, strangely accented and croaky.
‘Please! Please, a girl’s fallen into the pond! Please help!’
There was a fumbling, then a series of about ten different locks being unbolted and
eased back stiffly, then a pause and the witch’s voice demanded, ‘Oo are you?’
‘Meena … Meena Kumar! I live …’
1
I could not speak any more, but the last bolt slid from its casing and an apparition 5
appeared – a tiny woman who barely reached my shoulders was holding an old-
fashioned oil lamp in her delicate hand. She looked eternal rather than old, carefully
styled blue hair, spots of rouge on the still prominent cheekbones, a dainty mouth
which bled pearly pink lipstick and those eyebrows, not her real ones, they had
obviously been shaved off years ago, but two heavily drawn lines which swooped right
up to her hairline like two ironic question marks. ‘Ah, Mee-naa.’ She sang it rather than 2
said it. ‘You live in the corner house, is it not? ‘ow is your leg, better?’ 0
I was already running, cracking my head on branches and snagging my bare
arms on brambles. Where was the path, who was nearest, phone the police
somebody, which was the way out, every moment on dry land is another one
underwater, I Have An Exam Tomorrow …
© OCR 2024 J352/01 Jun24 Turn over
, 4
Waterland by Graham Swift
In this extract, the narrator Tom takes his girlfriend Mary to see Martha Clay because they
need help. Martha Clay is believed to be a witch.
Twilight thickening. The time of owls and will-o’-the-wisps. Right time to arrive at a
witch’s. Hold my hand, Mary. Hold on, Mary. Love you, Mary. Keep going, Mary. Are
we going to get there? (Do we want to get there?)
But we do get there. And we meet Martha Clay …
No pointed hat, no broomstick, no grinning black cat on shoulder (only a yapping, 5
slavering, grizzled brute of a dog, straining at a rope tether, which signals our arrival
and brings Martha out of doors, oil lamp in hand). I see a small woman with a large
round head. I see a woman wearing ancient leather boots. Wearing a heavy grey skirt
that might have been made from a horse blanket. Wearing a series of underskirts,
their tattered edges just visible, once white perhaps, now the colour of old teeth. 1
Wearing a greasy blouse, stiff and sticky as weather-worn sailcloth, sleeves rolled up 0
to the elbows. And over both the blouse and the grey skirt – as if, in between turns as
a witch, she doubles as a charwoman1 – a faded, floral-pattern, full-length apron.
And as we meet Martha, we meet Martha’s smell …
But enough of Martha’s costume. (And enough of that smell!) That face! Small, moist,
needly eyes. Leather purse of a mouth. Nose: bony (but in no way hooked). 1
Forehead: bumpy-shiny, tobacco-hued. Hair: waxy-grey, pulled tight down to her scalp 5
by a knot at the neck stuck through with two lengths of quill. And those cheeks! Those
cheeks! They’re not just round and ruddy. They’re not just red. They don’t merely
suggest alternate and continual exposure over several decades, without any
intermediate stages, to winter gales and scorching sun. They’re bladders of fire.
They’re over-ripe tomatoes. 2
0
2 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and When All is Said by
Anne Griffin Read the two extracts below and then answer both part (a)
and part (b).
You should spend about 45 minutes on part (a) and 30 minutes on part (b).
For part (a), you should focus only on the extracts here rather than referring to the
rest of your studied text.
(a) Compare how problems at school are presented in these two extracts. You should
consider:
• the situations and experiences faced by the characters
• how the characters react to these situations and experiences •
how the writers’ use of language and techniques creates
effects.
AND
1 charwoman = cleaner
© OCR 2024 J352/01 Jun24
*9936623222*
M
onday 13 May 2025 – Morning
INSTRUCTIONS
• Use black ink.
• Write your answer to each question in the Answer Booklet. The question numbers must
be clearly shown.
• Fill in the boxes on the front of the Answer Booklet.
• All the questions in Section A have two parts, (a) and (b). Answer both parts of the
question on the text you have studied.
• Answer one question on the text you have studied in Section B.
INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 80.
• The marks for each question are shown in brackets [ ].
• Quality of extended response will be assessed in questions marked with an asterisk (*).
• This document has 24 pages.
ADVICE
• Read each question carefully before you start your answer.
© OCR 2024 [601/4872/X] DC (LK) 326278/9
OCR is an exempt Charity
Turn over
BLANK PAGE
, 2
Contents Page
Section A – Modern prose or drama Question Page
Anita and Me by Meera Syal 1 4
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 2 6
Animal Farm by George Orwell 3 8
An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley 4 10
Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock 5 12
DNA by Dennis Kelly 6 14
Section B – 19th century prose Questions Page
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 7/8 16
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 9/10 17
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells 11/12 18
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert
Louis Stevenson 13/14 19
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 15/16 20
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens 17/18 21–22
Section A – Modern prose or drama
Answer one question from this section.
1 Anita and Me by Meera Syal and Waterland by Graham
Swift Read the two extracts below and then answer both part
(a) and part (b).
You should spend about 45 minutes on part (a) and 30 minutes on part (b).
For part (a), you should focus only on the extracts here rather than referring to the
rest of your studied text.
(a) Compare how these two extracts present characters’ feelings about the people they
want to help them. You should consider:
• the situations and experiences faced by the characters
• how the characters react to these situations and experiences •
how the writers’ use of language and techniques creates
effects.
AND
© OCR 2024 J352/01 Jun24
, 3
(b) Explore another moment in Anita and Me where Meena memorably describes
someone.
Extract 1 from: Anita and Me by Meera Syal
In this extract, Meena goes to the Big House to seek help for Tracey who has fallen in the
pond.
I reached the front door of the Big House, retching for breath, spasms gripping my 5
leg. There were no lights on but I put my finger on the doorbell and kept it there and
even if a woman with a warty chin and a broomstick opened it, I decided I would still
ask for help. A soft glow appeared somewhere behind the huge oak door, I could see
it approaching through the stained glass panel just above my head which depicted a
mine with a pithead behind which a red sun was rising. 1
0
‘Oo is it?’ A witch’s voice, strangely accented and croaky.
‘Please! Please, a girl’s fallen into the pond! Please help!’
There was a fumbling, then a series of about ten different locks being unbolted and
eased back stiffly, then a pause and the witch’s voice demanded, ‘Oo are you?’
‘Meena … Meena Kumar! I live …’
1
I could not speak any more, but the last bolt slid from its casing and an apparition 5
appeared – a tiny woman who barely reached my shoulders was holding an old-
fashioned oil lamp in her delicate hand. She looked eternal rather than old, carefully
styled blue hair, spots of rouge on the still prominent cheekbones, a dainty mouth
which bled pearly pink lipstick and those eyebrows, not her real ones, they had
obviously been shaved off years ago, but two heavily drawn lines which swooped right
up to her hairline like two ironic question marks. ‘Ah, Mee-naa.’ She sang it rather than 2
said it. ‘You live in the corner house, is it not? ‘ow is your leg, better?’ 0
I was already running, cracking my head on branches and snagging my bare
arms on brambles. Where was the path, who was nearest, phone the police
somebody, which was the way out, every moment on dry land is another one
underwater, I Have An Exam Tomorrow …
© OCR 2024 J352/01 Jun24 Turn over
, 4
Waterland by Graham Swift
In this extract, the narrator Tom takes his girlfriend Mary to see Martha Clay because they
need help. Martha Clay is believed to be a witch.
Twilight thickening. The time of owls and will-o’-the-wisps. Right time to arrive at a
witch’s. Hold my hand, Mary. Hold on, Mary. Love you, Mary. Keep going, Mary. Are
we going to get there? (Do we want to get there?)
But we do get there. And we meet Martha Clay …
No pointed hat, no broomstick, no grinning black cat on shoulder (only a yapping, 5
slavering, grizzled brute of a dog, straining at a rope tether, which signals our arrival
and brings Martha out of doors, oil lamp in hand). I see a small woman with a large
round head. I see a woman wearing ancient leather boots. Wearing a heavy grey skirt
that might have been made from a horse blanket. Wearing a series of underskirts,
their tattered edges just visible, once white perhaps, now the colour of old teeth. 1
Wearing a greasy blouse, stiff and sticky as weather-worn sailcloth, sleeves rolled up 0
to the elbows. And over both the blouse and the grey skirt – as if, in between turns as
a witch, she doubles as a charwoman1 – a faded, floral-pattern, full-length apron.
And as we meet Martha, we meet Martha’s smell …
But enough of Martha’s costume. (And enough of that smell!) That face! Small, moist,
needly eyes. Leather purse of a mouth. Nose: bony (but in no way hooked). 1
Forehead: bumpy-shiny, tobacco-hued. Hair: waxy-grey, pulled tight down to her scalp 5
by a knot at the neck stuck through with two lengths of quill. And those cheeks! Those
cheeks! They’re not just round and ruddy. They’re not just red. They don’t merely
suggest alternate and continual exposure over several decades, without any
intermediate stages, to winter gales and scorching sun. They’re bladders of fire.
They’re over-ripe tomatoes. 2
0
2 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and When All is Said by
Anne Griffin Read the two extracts below and then answer both part (a)
and part (b).
You should spend about 45 minutes on part (a) and 30 minutes on part (b).
For part (a), you should focus only on the extracts here rather than referring to the
rest of your studied text.
(a) Compare how problems at school are presented in these two extracts. You should
consider:
• the situations and experiences faced by the characters
• how the characters react to these situations and experiences •
how the writers’ use of language and techniques creates
effects.
AND
1 charwoman = cleaner
© OCR 2024 J352/01 Jun24
