English Language and Literature

The AQA specification is divided into three key areas: Telling Stories, Exploring Conflict, and Making Connections.

In Telling Stories, you will explore how writers present personal and collective experiences through fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. You’ll study an anthology of texts, the novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, and selected poems by Seamus Heaney — each offering distinctive perspectives on voice, place, and memory.

In Exploring Conflict, you’ll examine how writers represent relationships, power, and identity. You’ll study A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, analysing how language constructs tension, emotion, and perspective. You will also develop your own creative writing, adopting and experimenting with an author’s style to craft original pieces that demonstrate literary technique.

In Making Connections, your independent coursework will involve researching and writing a comparative essay on two chosen texts — one literary and one non-literary — based on a theme of personal interest. This gives you the freedom to pursue topics that inspire you while honing research and critical skills valued at degree level.

English Language and Literature is one of the most versatile A Levels you can study. It provides a foundation for degrees in English, Journalism, Media, Law, Creative Writing, or Education.

The analytical, creative, and communication skills developed through this course are valued in fields such as publishing, marketing, politics, business, and the creative industries. English students are adaptable thinkers and articulate communicators — qualities that open doors to a wide range of professions.

This qualification follows the AQA 7707 specification. Assessment includes two written exams and one piece of coursework.

Paper 1, Telling Stories, and Paper 2, Exploring Conflict, each contribute 40 per cent of the final grade. The non-exam assessment, Making Connections, contributes the remaining 20 per cent and is internally assessed and externally moderated.

Assessment focuses on analysis, evaluation, and creativity — rewarding insight, originality, and understanding of how language operates within literature and society.