CRIMINOLOGY
APPLIED DIPLOMA
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A Level
English Language and Literature
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Hours
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UCAS
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Pass
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Campus
Level
AQA
4.5
A* = 56
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3
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If you are looking to study A-Levels please apply for up to three subjects. Simply add each course to your basket or visit our Apply section.
Apply now for 2025/2026, simply add the course to your basket to start the enrolment process.
*NEW for 2025* Do you love reading about the world around you through both literary and non-literary texts? Are you interested in understanding how and why different texts are written and received the way they are? Do you enjoy writing creatively and critically reflecting on that writing? If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, then A Level English Language and Literature is the subject for you!
This combined A Level recognises that it is difficult to separate the study of literature and the study of language, allowing you to explore texts from a range of genres and periods. Texts covered include novels, plays, poems, blogs, travel writing and more. You will learn how to critically analyse how texts create worlds, the form and function of the poetic voice, the representation of the individual in society and more. You will also engage with a range of literary and non-literary criticism, questioning the very idea of ‘literariness’ and developing the creative, critical and independent learning skills needed to become a talented interpreter and producer of texts.
The English Language and Literature A Level is taken across two years and is sat on the AQA exam board. There are 2 exams sat at the end of the second year that are worth 80% of your final grade. You will also complete a 3,000-word Non-Examined Assessment (Coursework) which is worth 20% of your overall grade.
Entry Requirements
Five GCSEs at Grade 4 and above, including GCSE Maths
A grade 5 in English Language and a grade 5 in English Literature
You will study the following units over the two year A Level. Topics taught in year one are also examined in the second year:
Year 1 - Telling Stories
Over the course of this year you will discover how and why a range of stories are told through the following units:
1. Remembered Places
Explore the AQA Paris Anthology, featuring a range of texts from different genres and periods that include spoken texts. Analyse how place is represented and how social and cultural context impacts that representation.
2. Imagined Worlds
You will study Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, focusing on how characterisation, point of view and time and space are navigated.
3. Poetic Voices
Engage with a selection of poetry from Carol Ann Duffy’s Mean Time, considering the function of poetry and the poetic voice.
Year 2 - Exploring Conflict
Over the course of the second year you will focus on how language choices help to construct ideas of conflict between people, and between people and their societies through the following units:
1. Writing About Society
Consider how The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale uses situations of conflict to express ideas about society and their values. You will also be encouraged to adapt and shape material from this text into your own writing.
2. Critical Commentary
Drawing on your work in Writing About Society, you will learn how to critically evaluate and write about your own writing.
3. Dramatic Encounters
Utilise Tennesee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire to explore how playwrights create and engage with conflict in their writing.
NEA - Making Connections
Over both years you will explore the non-examined assessment. The NEA requires you to make active connections between a literary text and non-literary material of your choice. These connections should be focused on a specific theme, linguistic feature or idea that may occur across these texts. This will result in the completion of a 3,000 word investigation.
English Language and Literature is one of the most transferable A Levels and can be combined with any subject. Popular subject combinations with this subject include Sociology, Law, Film, Media Studies, and Psychology. You can go on to study degrees in English Language, Linguistics, Literature, Law, Sociology and Education. Learners who study English Language and Literature might be interested in a career in journalism, marketing and sales, education, paediatrics (if combined with the sciences) or any career where writing is important.
There is a wide range of opportunities to further develop your learning. You can join our English Academy which explores contemporary texts to widen your cultural awareness and further develop your skills in writing and analysis. We also offer a Creative Writing Academy and there is an opportunity to take part in national creative writing competitions. The English Department also offer exciting trips to journalism workshops and have offered an accent workshop in the British Library. There are also opportunities to attend talks as part of our Sixth Form Talks series from universities and employers including talks from English Language and Literature lecturers and people in the media and marketing industries.
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