English Department Curriculum

GCSE English and GCSE English Literature

These are two separate subjects leading to two independent qualifications.

GCSE English

This course examines the candidate's ability to manipulate and comprehend language in both written and spoken forms. Either two or three examination papers are taken, together worth up to 80% of the total GCSE, and the first of these requires the pupil to respond to language as it is used in media contexts. The oral element accounts for 20% of the total mark, as does an optional coursework submission of three pieces of written work

GCSE English Literature

This course develops skills of literary analysis, and six set texts are studied: essays on three of these (one play, one prose text, and a selection of poems) will be submitted as coursework, comprising 30% of the total. Two examination papers (70%) are taken during the course.

Given the importance of drama in the English syllabuses, the Department organizes trips whenever possible to relevant theatrical productions during the Shell and Fifth Form. Understanding of set-texts is always enhanced by watching a professional performance.

A and AS Level English Literature

AS Level English Literature

You will study four set-texts during the Lower Sixth for AS: three (a play by Shakespeare, a verse text, and a novel) will be examined at the end of the year in two examination papers. You will submit a coursework folder of two short essays on your fourth text.

A Level English Literature

The AS course having been successfully completed, you may decide to progress to the full A level in English. The A2 course requires the study of another four texts, one of which may be a second Shakespeare play (the others will include a modern novel and some further poetry). Two examination papers are taken during the Upper Sixth, and a folder of coursework may be submitted. Every A level pupil will be introduced to the language of Chaucer.

A good GCSE performance, particularly in English Literature, provides a helpful training for the A level course, but an enthusiasm for reading is the most important requirement for those wishing to pursue this subject, particularly as this is now explicitly assessed in one of the three units at A2. We would expect A level candidates to gain grade B or above. The option of additionally sitting the AEA - Advanced Extension Award (for which no extra set-texts are required) is still popular in English: pupils need not decide this until the Upper Sixth.

We annually take A level pupils to Stratford-upon-Avon at the start of the Upper Sixth to see performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company. We have also organized expeditions to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, West Yorkshire, and the nearby 'Top Withens'.