When you join KPS 6th Form to study English, you will be studying the OCR syllabus for English Literature. 

The details for this can be found in the specification below.

In short, you will study:

  • A range of fiction within a theme, such as The Gothic or American Literature.
  • Shakespeare, such as Hamlet or Twelfth Night.
  • A collection of poetry and a play,  such as Christina Rossetti and A Doll's House.
  • post-1900 texts, such as A Streetcar Named Desire, Maya Angelou's poetry, and Purple Hibiscus

To prepare for the English A Level, we have provided a reading list for your summer holiday.

Suggested Reading List:

  • Dracula
  • Frankenstein
  • The Grapes of Wrath
  • The Great Gatsby
  • Absalom, Absalom!
  • Half of a Yellow Sun
  • Purple Hibiscus 
  • The Sound and the Fury
  • Underworld 


Authors you may wish to research to learn more about their lives, the world they lived in, and their fiction, include:

  • Maya Angelou
  • Sylvia Plath
  • John Webster
  • Christina Rossetti
  • William Shakespeare
  • Tennessee Williams 
  • Henrik Ibsen
  • Seamus Heaney 

AO4 - Interpretations of Literature

For A Level, you will be expected to read a range of critical theory in relation to the texts you studied, including the opinions and arguments of others in your essays, and engaging with their approaches. This video will give you an introduction to this skill.

YALE LECTURES ON CRITICAL THEORY

AO3 - Context

Literary texts exist in larger surrounding frames and contexts. This video will explore how biographical, cultural, literary and historical contexts can help you clarify and deepen your understanding of a literary text.