A Level English Literature

Please apply via PS16. Any applications received by 31/1/25 are guaranteed an interview in February - April 2025, as long as minimum entry requirements are met. Offers are made after interview.

Paper 1 [40%] Love through the Ages:

You will study three texts: one poetry and one prose text, of which one must be written pre-1900, and one Shakespeare play. You will also respond to two unseen poems in the exam.

The aim of this topic area is to encourage students to explore aspects of a central literary theme as seen over time, using unseen material and set texts from a range of authors and periods. The range of texts on offer allows students to study representations of love by a variety of authors across time.

Paper 2 [40%] Texts in shared Contexts: Modern Times:

The aim of this topic area is to encourage you to explore aspects of literature connected through a period of time. Option B explores both modern and contemporary literature’s engagement with some of the social, political, personal and literary issues which have helped to shape the latter half of the 20th century and the early decades of the 21st century.

You will study a novel, play and poetry collection written post-1945 as well as undertake unseen prose preparation, allowing consideration of the ways literature has evolved over time but also the ways in which society is reflected in and determined by the arts today.

NEA [20%] Texts Across Time:

Here you will write a comparative critical study of two texts on a theme of your choice. Although we are obviously here to guide and suggest, this piece of work is about you and your interests. One text must be pre-1900 but whether you want to focus on madness in the Victorian novel or the representation of gender in the 1990s, this is your opportunity.

The course is taught by experienced and knowledgeable staff with a love of their subject. You will develop skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening as well as broadening your horizons in a range of other interrelated disciplines – politics, sociology, history, media studies and more are all relevant to the themes and ideas explored in English Literature. Essays form a key part our classroom practice but there are also many opportunities for discussion and presenting, independent research and group investigation. The very nature of the course rewards wider reading and viewing to round your literary understanding.

How will I be assessed?

Paper 1: Love Through the Ages – 3-hour open book examination (apart from section A) – 40%. This examination takes place in May/June at the end of year 13 and is assessed externally.

Paper 2: Texts in Shared Contexts: Modern Times – 2.5-hour open book examination – 40%. This examination takes place in June at the end of year 13 and is assessed externally.

NEA: Texts Across Time – 2,500 coursework essay – 20%. This essay is introduced in the summer term of year 12 with final drafts due in February of year 13. The NEA is assessed internally and moderated by AQA experts externally.

GCSE Grade 5 in English Literature and English Language

With so many skills which work in so many environments, English Literature opens numerous pathways. Previous students have gone on to study creative writing, communication studies, linguistics and performance arts alongside English Literature and/or Language itself. However, that only scratches the surface. We have lawyers, historians, teachers, journalists, social scientists, charity workers, marketing and media personnel – the list really does go on.

Many students choose to go on to degree level qualifications but the nature of communicative skills inherent in English also allow for degree level apprenticeship applications and other vocational training.