Welcome to the

A-level English Literature exam results 2014

24% students achieved an A*

82% A*-B

100% A*-E

Why study literature?

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.Barbara Tuchman

Literature is the question minus the answer.Roland Barthes

I tell my students, it's not difficult to identify with somebody like yourself, somebody next door who looks like you. What's more difficult is to identify with someone you don't see, who's very far away, who's a different colour, who eats a different kind of food. When you begin to do that then literature is really performing its wonders.Chinua Achebe

English Literature A-level and employability

Studying English develops skills in:

• articulating knowledge and understanding of texts, concepts and theories;• leading and participating in discussions;• effectively conveying arguments and opinions and thinking creatively;• using your judgement to weigh up alternative perspectives;• critical reasoning and analysis• Written communication

Possible routes of employment:

• Media and journalism• Advertising and PR• Publishing• Creative roles within the Arts• Law conversion – legal position• Management programmes – private and public sector• Teaching – primary/ secondary/ Higher Education

www.dhsbookbabes.wordpress.com

One of the tools we use as a department to support and extend our A-level students is the dhsbookbabes blog. It has been viewed 86,000 views since it was launched. We will be re-modelling our blog for the new A-level specification in 2015.

Have a look for yourself

The blog allows us to……

• Post information about additional revision classes and post key resources and updates after sessions

• Set homework to be completed on the blog so students can read each other’s work

• Share extension tasks and wider reading suggestions

• Invite students to discuss their reading and coursework progress

• Share core material used in lessons so students can access electronic copies easily

A-level English Enrichment opportunities

English Department Magazine

This year we are excited to be launching a departmental publication

produced by Year 12 English students. This provides an opportunity for creative writing, journalism and leadership experiences and a lot of enjoyment for our students. Watch this space!

A-level English Enrichment opportunities

DHSG hosts performance poet John Hegley June 2014

Year 12 go to the Theatre Royal Plymouth to see Othello October 2014

A-level English Enrichment opportunities

• Year 12 poetry and creative writing workshops in partnership with the school’s G&T coordinator and Plymouth University June 2014

• An opportunity to explore Romantic and Modernist poetry – preparation for A2 and undergraduate study

A-level English Enrichment opportunities

A-level Book Club

Monthly lunchtime

meetings offer fun and lively

discussion and literary

companionship

13A 2014-15

13A 2014-15

13D 2014-15

English Literature AQA AWhat this specification offers:

• A relevant, engaging and up-to-date specification that approaches the study of literature through the lens of historicism, encouraging the independent study of a range of texts within a shared context

• This unifying approach facilitates the inclusion of a range of wider reading, thus extending students' experience and appreciation of literature.

• Clear progression from GCSE

• A variety of assessment styles used, such as passage-based questions, unseen material, single-text questions, multiple-text questions, open- and closed-book approaches allows students to develop a wide range of skills preparing them for university study and the workplace.

Unit 1: Love Through the AgesStudy of three texts: one poetry and one prose text, of which one must be

written pre-1900, and one Shakespeare play. Examination will include two unseen poems

Assessed• written exam: 3 hours• open book in Section C only• 75 marks• 40% of A-level

QuestionsSection A: Shakespeare: One passage-based question with linked essay (25

marks) Section B: Unseen Poetry: Compulsory essay question on two unseen poems (25

marks) Section C: Comparing Texts: One essay question linking two texts (25 marks)

Unit 2: Texts in Shared Contexts

Option 2B: Modern Times: Literature from 1945 to the Present Day

Study of three texts: one prose, one poetry, and one drama, of which one must be written post-2000Examination will include an unseen extract

Assessed• written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes• open book• 75 marks• 40% of A-level

QuestionsSection A: Set Texts. One essay question on set text (25 marks)Section B:

Contextual Linking• One compulsory question on an unseen extract (25 marks)• One essay question linking two texts (25 marks)

Non-exam assessment: Independent Critical Study: Texts across Time

Comparative critical study of two texts, at least one of which must have been written pre-1900. One extended essay (2500 words) and a bibliography

Assessed• 50 marks• 20% of A-level• assessed by teachers• Moderated by AQA

A-level English Literature exam results 2014

24% students achieved an A*

82% A*-B

100% A*-E