Five GCSEs at grade /9–4. including a minimum grade 4 in English Language. BTEC Level 2 qualifications considered in subject related courses.
English Language – A Level
Studying English Language offers you the chance to study a variety of topics such as gender and language, political correctness, accent and dialect, language change and also child language acquisition. You will gain an insight into how language has developed over time and where it is heading next, as well as the opportunity to develop your analytical skills and creative writing skills in the non-exam assessment in year 2, focusing on any areas of language that interests you.
Our students in particular enjoy the non-exam assessment part of the course and have explored some fascinating topics over the last few years such as how serial killers use language to manipulate individuals, how films by Disney and Marvel have evolved the language or cinema over time to adapt to the needs of their audience and how certain individuals in society face accent discrimination due to the way they speak.
You will study how language is used in written, spoken and electronic forms including articles, blogs and social media to see how these different genres affect how language is structured for respective audiences. You will also examine language in its wider geographical and social contexts with topics that will encourage debate in lectures including accents and dialects (in the UK and abroad), language and gender, language and ethnicity and political correctness.
COMPONENT 2 (SECOND YEAR)
You will study the interesting topic of child language acquisition, exploring children’s speech and writing habits to see how they learn to read, write and speak. You will also explore how language has changed over time from Old English to the English varieties used globally today.
NON-EXAM ASSESSMENT (SECOND YEAR)
20% of your overall A Level result is gained from work completed outside of class. You will produce a investigation based on your own research, outlining an area your interest relating to language and society, such as the use of different accents and dialects in pockets of society. You will also develop your creative writing skills by producing a creative text such as a script, blog or a short story on any topic you choose.
You will be taught using a variety of methods such as interactive quizzes, debates in classes as well as lectures, workshops and guest talks throughout the year. Additionally, trips will also be offered as an additional part of the course to help you put your skills into practice.
In A Level English Language, you will be assessed in a variety of different forms, from writing analytical essays to creative tasks. You will sit two exam papers at the end of year 2 (80% of your overall grade) and also complete two pieces of non-exam assessment, an investigation-based coursework and a creative writing piece (20% of your overall grade).
English Language provides you with varied skills and knowledge to be useful for many different career avenues. Students who complete the course often go on to study courses such as Journalism, Media, English Language, Speech and Language Therapy, Marketing and Teaching courses.
You will find many of our useful physical and online resources in our Library, but it is encouraged that you purchase the set textbook at the beginning of the year to help you with your studies. This is approximately £30.
The course includes a number of external trips to maximise your learning experiences on the course. You will get an opportunity to take part on the annual English Language trip to Dublin where in previous years students have seen comedy shows by performers including Jimmy Carr and Lee Evans. You will also visit the National Library of Ireland and other academic institutions for workshops, presentations and talks. You will also get the chance to appear in the audience of live TV shows such as The Wright Stuff and Loose Women, as well as other UK based excursions including the British Library.
The English Language Partnership with Winchester University also offers you the chance to visit Winchester to take part in taster sessions, study tours and talks from guest lecturers from higher education English lecturing staff.
A-level English Language holds a 100% pass rate over 14 years of delivery, with recent results seeing 70% A*-B grades.
| Pass rate | A*-B grades |
| 100% | 70% |