An Inspector Calls: York Notes for GCSE - everything you need to study and prepare for the 2025 and 2026 exams

York Notes Study Guide for An Inspector Calls at GCSE will help you understand the plot, action and characters of the play and also the elements of J. B. Priestley’s writing, such as its context, themes and language, which you need to be familiar with in order to achieve top grades in exam and essay questions about An Inspector Calls.

Examiners marking your An Inspector Calls GCSE questions are looking for answers which show an understanding of the social message of the play and the contrast between the affluent lifestyle of the Birling family compared with the lives of the workers of Brumley. You should revise not just the play itself but the life of the author J. B. Priestley – GCSE students who can successfully reference Priestley’s experience growing up in Bradford at the turn of the century and how this relates to the events and characters of the play are more likely to receive top grades.