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Churchill Academy & Sixth Form

English Literature*

English Literature A Level offers students the opportunity to develop their literary analysis skills by engaging creatively and critically with a diverse range of novels, plays and poems from both the past and the present. You get to experience everything from Larkin’s frustration at fast moving consumerism, to Hamlet’s heart-breaking meditations on the limits of this world; from Duffy’s joyful observation regarding the beauty of how candle light has its own language, to admiring Jane Eyre’s resilience in the face of incredible suffering. In an increasingly polarised society, it is a course that will encourage students to empathise sensitively with others; in an age where communication is increasingly rushed through mobile phones, our course will unashamedly promote articulate, sophisticated views; finally, in an age where screens are seemingly inescapable, it will hopefully inspire you to no longer walk past that wonderful old second hand bookshop in your village and instead become one who reads for a lifetime.

English Literature is not just about old dusty books; it’s an opportunity to come together and explore life’s great themes: love, death, identity, power, and the remarkable pain and privilege of being young.

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Subject specific entry requirement: Standard Sixth Form entry plus Grade 5 in GCSE English Literature
Qualification: A Level
Topics and areas covered:

Year 12:
Pre-1900 Prose: Jane Eyre (Bronte)
Post 1900 Poetry: Mean Time (Duffy)
Post 1900 Play: A Streetcar named desire (Williams)

Year 13:
Component 1:
Pre 1900 Poetry –Songs of Innocence and Experience (William Blake)
Post 1900 Poetry -Mean Time (Carol Ann Duffy) and The Whitsun Weddings (Philip Larkin) / William Blake Poetry
Component 2:
Shakespeare Play: Hamlet
Pre & Post 1900: Two Plays: A streetcar named desire (Williams) & The Duchess of Malfi (Webster)
Component 3:
Unseen Prose & Unseen Poetry
Component 4:
Prose Study: Jane Eyre (Bronte) and Post-2000 text of choice – Comparison Coursework (20% Final Grade)

Future career path: The versatility of English Literature means the subject can lead to careers in journalism, law, teaching, marketing, media or advertising amongst others. 
Examination information:  
Additional information:

We offer a creative writing retreat weekend at Springhead as well as numerous other book and English related clubs and activities throughout the course. 

 

Cannot be studied as an AS Level (4th choice).