We offer close support for students moving from GCSE to A-Level. Small classes, advice and guidance from specialist teachers and an introduction to the course in Year 12 are in place to help you adjust to A Level study.

A Level content

You will study a minimum of eight texts including:

• at least three texts published before 1900, including at least one text by Shakespeare
• at least one work first published or performed after 2000
• at least one unseen text

The course will develop your knowledge and understanding of:

• the ways in which writers shape meaning in texts
• the ways in which texts are interpreted by different readers, including over time
• the ways in which texts relate to one another and to literary traditions, movements and genres
• the significance of cultural and contextual influences on readers and writers

Component 1 covers Shakespeare and pre-1900 drama and poetry.

Component 2 is topic-based. The school will choose one of the following set topics and you will answer one question on an unseen passage, related to the topic, and also an essay focusing on two texts linked with the topic. The topics set for the first examinations are:

• American Literature 1880-1940
• The Gothic
• Dystopia
• Women in Literature
• The Immigrant Experience

Component 3 is coursework, with two essays, one requiring close study of a passage through either a critical or a recreative response; the other being a comparative essay. The texts for Component 3 are post-1900 and at least one must be post-2000.

A Level assessment

• Component 1: Shakespeare and pre-1900 drama and poetry. A closed-text examination of 2 hours 30 minutes. (40% of the A Level)
• Component 2: You will answer one question on an unseen passage, related to the topic, and also an essay focusing on two texts linked with the topic. A closed-text examination of 2 hours 30 minutes. (40% of the A Level)
• Component 3: Two coursework essays (20% of the A Level)