A Level English Literature
Sandbach College
Why study this course?
Studying English Literature will help you to sharpen and develop your analytical skills. If you can take a text and find the themes, plus connect it with other texts, theories and historical events, you are showing that you can handle complex ideas, search for patterns and interpret information in a wider context. Not only are these crucial skills for all aspects of future study, English literature also helps us to make sense of the world around us. The big ideas that we look at throughout our A Level course examine everything that makes us who we are.
In addition to the core texts and ideas that we cover, studying English Literature will also develop your planning and research skills as well as allowing you to access crucial aspects of history, popular culture, philosophy, ethics and classics, and even human behaviour.
Sandbach College at Sandbach High School Entry Requirements
We ask that all students achieve grade 4 or equivalent (a Level 2 pass) in at least 4 subjects, alongside the following subject specific entry requirements:
- Grade 5 in GCSE English
What will I learn on this course?
In English Literature, you will learn how to read, research and present your ideas on a wide range of texts in a fluent and dynamic way. One part of the course covers ‘Aspects of Tragedy’, where we examine the way tragic texts have evolved and changed, from the Greeks to the twentieth century. With your other teacher you will read and engage with a range of texts on the theme of ‘Crime Writing’, looking at how and why this genre has held such a sway over readers for generations. In addition, we will teach you to apply six critical lenses to your reading, using the ideas of literary critics and theories to look at texts in new and exciting ways.
Examinations & Coursework
Aspects of Tragedy – 40%, Crime Writing – 40%, NEA – 20%
Potential career paths
Publishing
Journalism
Advertising
Marketing and Management
Education
Law
Creative Writing
Government and Politics
Enrichment opportunities
Theatre trips
Year 7 Tuition Programme
The Voice