In Years 7 to 9 you will enjoy a range of poetry, prose and drama. We update our texts regularly so you will find literary canon texts, including Shakespeare, Eliot and Orwell, are taught alongside modern novels such as The Skylark’s War and the diverse short story collection A Change Is Gonna Come, as well as our Year 9 Poetry Anthology also representing black and minority ethnic voices.

The skills you learn in the first three years form the foundations for GCSE success. We build your confidence so you can communicate fluently and accurately, ensuring your perceptive ideas feature on the page.

You will take two IGCSEs – English Language and Literature – in classes taught by a team of English specialists. Here, our focus turns to further developing your skills of literary analysis, personal engagement with the text and ability to construct a fluent, coherent essay the foundations for which were laid in Years 7 to 9. Currently pupils are studying Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Purple Hibiscus and a collection of poetry spanning the centuries, as well as a play. These texts change regularly in line with exam board’s specifications.

English Literature A-level is a popular course in the school where you are given the opportunity to expand your knowledge, skills and engagement with the subject even further. Lessons are seminar style, featuring informed, lively discussion about texts. You are encouraged to become more independent and more rigorous in the process: researching and reading criticism and, in turn, bringing new ideas and new perspectives to class discussion, which then feeds into your written work.

A-level Course Details