English

A-level Course

In the sixth form, pupils studying English Literature will spend most of their time reading, discussing and analysing some of the finest literature in the Western canon. The AS course introduces them to interesting new critical perspectives, which they then apply to novels, plays and poetry drawn from the last two hundred years. Those who continue to A2 will bring this nascent expertise to bear on the more challenging texts of the English literary Renaissance, as well as giving them scope to pursue their own choices through an open and exciting coursework element, which often sees pupils compare texts drawn from the fifteenth century to the present day in strikingly original ways.

That our results are so strong is a testament to this independent approach, which pupils find intellectually challenging but fulfilling. Many of those who take English A level go on to read the subject at university, including ten pupils who have won places at Oxford and Cambridge in the last three years, but we like to feel that those who don't nonetheless learn to read both books and the world in general with greater perception and sensitivity. It is not only an academically rewarding subject but also the most enduring one.

We follow the OCR course:

AS Lower 6th (Year 12)

Unit F661: Poetry and Prose 1800-1945(examination, 2 hours, 60% of AS)

• Poetry 1800-1945 - critical analysis of poetry
• Prose 1800-1945 - analytical essay on a set prose text focusing on narrative    methods and effects, and linking to other readers' interpretations

Unit F662: Literature post-1900(coursework, 3000 words, 40% of AS)

• Close critical analysis of a section of a chosen post-1900 text

AND

• an essay exploring connections between texts informed by other readers' interpretations.

A2 Upper 6th (Year 13)

Unit F663: Drama and Poetry pre-1800(examination, 2 hours, 60% of A2)

• Shakespeare: an essay requiring critical analysis of structure, form and meaning, and consideration of others' interpretations
• Drama and Poetry pre-1800: an essay exploring contrasts and comparisons between two different texts

 Unit F664: Texts in Time(coursework, 3000 words, 40% of AS)

• A study of texts across at least two genres within the same or different time period: an essay exploring connections and comparisons between three related texts

Trips and Extra-curricular

As well as trips to the theatre in London and Stratford, the department runs a trip to Florence during the Lower Sixth Reading Week.  The Literary Society meets on Tuesdays after school: as well as covering a range of interesting contemporary texts it gives pupils a grounding in the literary canon, covering texts sequentially from Sir Thomas Wyatt in the sixteenth century through to the present day.  On Thursdays, academic extension classes are offered to the most able and enthusiastic.  The department also runs the Senior Debating Society, which pits house against house in a tournament which takes place during the Michaelmas and Lent terms.