English Literature A Level

Applications Open: 7th November 2025 at 9am

Applications Close: 30th January 2026 4pm

Entry Requirements: - 5 GCSE's Grade 4 and above, including Maths and/or English plus additional subject specific entry requirements.

How to Apply: - Please apply via KentChoices

A Level English Literature builds on skills developed at GCSE. It encourages students to explore the relationships that exist between texts and the contexts within which they are written, received and understood. This enables students to investigate and connect texts, drawing out patterns of similarity and difference using a variety of reading strategies and perspectives. It encourages students to debate and challenge interpretations as they develop their own informed personal responses. Students will read widely across a range of texts and connect them across time and topic, thinking about a wide range of relevant contexts, how the text has been received over time and how texts can be interpreted by readers now.

Topic One: Love Through The Ages: Through the theme of love, students study one Shakespeare play, two set texts (one collection of poetry from a prescribed Anthology and one prose text) and Unseen Prose.

Topic Two: Texts in Shared Context - Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day: Students study one core set text (poetry/prose/drama) and a comparative study of two texts from poetry/prose/drama, and Unseen Poetry.

Topic Three: Independent critical study: texts across time: Students write a comparative critical study of two texts, with at least one text studied independently.

Minimum of a secure grade 5 in GCSE English Language or English Literature.

English Literature is a well-respected academic subject and a facilitating subject at university. It can open many different, varied careers such as law, publishing, marketing and journalism and many of those give the opportunity to be creative in the world of work. An English degree covers 8 of the 10 key employability skills (World Economic Forum, 2020), providing graduates with many transferable skills including communication, the ability to work analytically and complete research, and the skills to work independently.