English Literature

Course summary

Literature teaches us how to be a human: how to live, how to love, how to feel. The texts studied in the Hall Cross English Literature course grant access to a variety of different experiences. From the world of Shakespeare’s Venice, the heady heights of Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age, and the poetry of Sylvia Plath via independent study and research through the NEA, students will build on the skills started at GCSE developing their close analysis and critical reading as well as as participating in active discussion in the classroom. Students will enjoy being challenged to think differently about the world around them, and their place within it – all via the medium of great literature. There will be several opportunities to visit universities and experience degree-level study, alongside attending workshops in school delivered by visiting lecturers. There are also opportunities available to meet various writers. Students will need to be proactive in reading a variety of prose, poetry, and drama texts outside of lessons to consolidate knowledge and develop critical perspectives. There will be a suggested reading list available to support this. There is also the opportunity to join the sixth form book club and attend the theatre to watch productions of the set texts for study.