English Literature

English Literature at GCSE allows you to begin to tackle some of the big questions about love, identity, power, and society.

Through the rigorous study of literary texts you hone your analysis skills, exploring texts in increasingly independent and conceptual ways. You will sharpen your craft of analytical writing and become embroiled in hot debate in class. This is simply a wonderful course.

EXAM PAPER 1 (40%): Shakespeare and the 19th Century Novel on this text. You will then answer an essay question comparing two poems from the AQA ‘Power and Conflict’ cluster of poetry, and then some shorter questions on a poetry text you will not have seen before. You will hone your close analysis skills through plenty of practice!

SCHOLARSHIP

Throughout the course we expect you to aim above the requirements for GCSE, developing the skills that allow you to flourish at A Level English Literature.

You will answer one question on a play by Shakespeare and one question on a 19th century novel, writing an extended essay exploring how writers use different techniques and methods to engage you and present different ideas. While these are older texts, the issues they depict are timeless and speak to the complexities of the human condition; you will love studying them!

EXAM PAPER 2 (60%): Modern Texts and Poetry

For this paper you will study a text written in the 20th or 21st century, thinking about how writers use their craft to convey their ideas. In the exam, you will answer one of a choice of two essay questions As well as the rigour and depth of class discussion which develops your independence of thought, we ask you to read widely, using the A Level Journals such ‘Emag’ and ‘English Review’ to sharpen your understanding of texts and to debate different critical opinions – decidedly an A Level skill.

As well as this, we explore the significance of texts’ social, historical and literary contexts – again an essential skill for success at A Level. By Year 11, your essays will develop the scholarly voice of a much older student.