English Literature

Course summary

A level of English Literature is concerned primarily with the close critical analysis of literary texts and the development of critical literary skills. Students also develop research and communication skills in exploring a range of contextual issues and engaging in debate over critical opinions. It is a subject for anyone who enjoys reading, interpreting the written word and discussing texts intellectually and rigorously. The English Department at LEH follows the linear OCR A level in English Literature (H472), which comprises two examination papers (worth 80% of the final grade) and one coursework unit (worth 20%). A minimum of eight texts are studied across these components, ranging from Shakespeare and other pre-1900 drama and poetry texts on Paper One to novels studied about a topic on Paper Two (American Literature, Women in Literature, Gothic Literature or Dystopian Literature, for example). Texts from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are studied as part of the coursework unit, which includes scope for creative writing. Students are taught in small classes and the course is divided between two teachers. Our A-level English Literature results are consistently excellent. Alongside this, the English Department offers a full programme of enrichment activities. We regularly take our Sixth Formers to theatre productions and text-based conferences in central London, for example, as well as places of literary interest, such as the King Richard III exhibition in Leicester. The English Department also has a programme of regular Literary Lectures, inviting academics to the school to speak on areas of interest about set texts. Students also have the opportunity to participate in an active Debating and Public Speaking Club and edit the English Department’s creative writing journal, The Fable.