ENGLISH LITERATURE
You will get to grips with some of the world’s most important, controversial and fascinating texts. You’ll have an inquisitive mind, a passion for writers’ craft and you’ll revel in pulling a text apart to uncover its deepest meanings. You’ll refine your analytical, essay-writing and debating skills whilst achieving a highly respected and versatile qualification.
COURSE AT A GLANCE
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Five GCSEs Grade 4-9 (including Maths, English Language and other supporting subjects). If you want to study a full A Level programme, you will need at least two grade 5s in supporting subjects as part of your five grade 4–9s.
Extra requirements: Grade 5 in GCSE English Language and Grade 5 in GCSE English Literature.
Please note: entry criteria could be subject to change due to the government's Review of Qualifications Reform programme.
QUALIFICATION TYPE: A Level
EXAM BOARD: OCR
LENGTH: 2 Years
MORE ABOUT THIS COURSE
WHAT YOU'LL STUDY
In your first year, you’ll learn about pre-1900 drama and poetry, studying the work of Christina Rossetti, Henrik Ibsen and William Shakespeare.
In the second year, you will focus on the dark, deviant and uncanny world of gothic literature, studying Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, amongst others.
HOW YOU'LL STUDY
Students in recent years have attended live productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and A Doll’s House for a sense of how drama works on the stage. Meanwhile, guest speakers are regularly invited to deliver specialist workshops for a flavour of degree-level literary analysis.
ASSESSMENT
You will sit two exams at the end of the course, each worth 40% of your overall A Level qualification. You will also complete a non-exam assessment which is worth 20% of the A Level.
CAREERS AND DESTINATIONS
An English Literature A Level opens up all kinds of doors; universities and employers place extremely high value on the critical nature of the subject. The majority of English Literature students go on to Higher Education, studying diverse subjects such as English, Linguistics, Film, Journalism, Marketing, Politics, Law, and more.