English Literature A Level
Springwood High School
Queensway, Gaywood, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE30 4AW
GCE A/AS Level or Equivalent
Level 3
Available start dates
Available start dates
Thursday, 03 September 2026
Springwood High School
2 Year(s)
Full time
Daytime/working hours
C
Low Availability
Application Instructions
Sixth Form Applications – Important Information
Our main Sixth Form application window has now closed; however, you can still submit an application. We will continue to consider late applications and all applicants will be invited to interview.
Due to high levels of demand, we may not be able to make offers for some subjects at this stage. Applicants will be contacted once places can be confirmed; this may not be possible until GCSE results day when we will have a clearer understanding of available capacity.
A LEVEL AND LEVEL 3 QUALIFICATIONS
To gain a place on this course students will ideally have at least grade 4 in both English Language and Mathematics and at least three other GCSEs, or equivalent Level 2 qualifications, at grade 5 or above. Some subjects also have additional entry requirements.
All students are to choose 3 subjects from 3 different blocks. Further Mathematics may be taken as a fourth choice.
LEVEL 2 QUALIFICATIONS
Subjects have individual entry requirements.
Students only need to apply for either Bricklaying or Hairdressing.
Course Details
A-level English Literature is a rigorous, stimulating and challenging qualification which allows students to deepen their experience, understanding, and appreciation of literature. We follow AQA Specification A, which takes an historicist approach, therefore facilitating the placement of texts within a specific context and considering how this will shape our interpretation. The approach to questions is holistic, meaning that students will demonstrate multiple ways of finding meaning within a text: through methods, context, or the views and criticism of others. The non-examined assessment allows students to pursue independent work in a field of particular personal interest, offering excellent preparation for study at undergraduate level.
Higher Education:
The study of English Literature can be one of the most powerful gateways to a rigorous and intellectually demanding university course. The need for concision and detailed textual analysis means that there are many different options for the English Literature student. Law, History and, to a lesser extent, Linguistics are historically strong partners. English Literature is one of the Russell Group’s facilitating subjects.
How will it be delivered and assessed?
Paper 1: Love Through the Ages - Examination 40%
We study the presentation and treatment of a core literary theme—love—over time. This includes considering romantic love, love and sex, love and loss, social conventions, and many more areas. Students will explore love within the context of the Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Othello’, an anthology of pre-1900 love poetry, and the 20th century novel ‘The Great Gatsby’. Students are also required to respond to a pair of unseen poems in this paper, drawing on their knowledge of ‘love through the ages’ in order to do so.
Paper 2: Texts in Shared Contexts - Examination 40%
We follow the second option for this paper, which is Modern Times: literature from 1945 to the present day. This component will encourage students to consider aspects of literature connected through a specific period of time, perhaps considering ideas
surrounding the legacy of war, political upheaval, and personal and social identity, to offer a few examples. We will study the drama ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, Duffy’s ‘Feminine Gospels’, and Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. Students are also required to respond to the significance of a theme in an unseen extract from a modern prose text.
NEA: Independent Critical Study - Non-Examined Assessment 20%
Students choose a suitable text to partner ‘Frankenstein’ and produce a comparative
critical study of 2,500 words on an area of interest, such as the struggle for identity or minds under stress, fostering a more independent approach to the study of literature.
Entry requirements
Subject Specific Requirements
Grade 5 in both English Language and English Literature
Your next steps...
Future Applications
A good A-level pass in English Literature would enable students to pursue with confidence careers such as publishing, the civil service, training courses in written journalism, law and teaching.
For more courses like this, check our courses page.