English Combined is the study of both English Language and English Literature. You will have a chance to study English Literature throughout the ages. You will look at the way in which writers craft language and how the influence of various social, historical, political and cultural factors affects the production of texts. A major part of this course is the study of spoken language; how spoken language is used in real conversation and how it is manipulated by writers to create authentic voices for their characters. You will also have an opportunity to study creative writing, both literary and non-literary, using the texts you study as source texts for the production of your own pieces, inspiring you to explore your own style of writing. Detailed linguistic analysis is also a key aspect of the course and will prepare you for further study of all analytical subjects at university. Our course is extremely varied giving you the opportunity to study classic American drama like, Tennessee Williams’ controversial melodrama A Street Car Named Desire, modern novels about personal and national redemption like The Kite Runner and poets as diverse as Philip Larkin, William Blake and Seamus Heaney. In the first year you will study three literary texts and the use of spoken language in planned and unplanned situations. Where possible we give you the opportunity to visit theatre productions of the plays we are studying. In recent years we have visited theatres in London, Liverpool, Harrogate, Birmingham and Bolton to see, Othello, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Importance of Being Earnest. In the second year you will explore collections of poems by poets as challenging as Blake, Heaney, Larkin and Plath. You will then have an opportunity to explore your own literary interests further as you can explore the themes and language of their work for the coursework module.You will also have an opportunity to study journalistic writing through the text, Cupcakes and Kalashnikovs, which is a collection of newspaper writing over 100 years. This will be the source text for a non-fiction creative writing question in the exam.

There are a broad range of opportunities open to students who have studied A-Level English Combined. You could go on to study English in some form at degree level at a wide range of universities across the country, as well as many other non-English related courses. A-Level English Combined is complimentary to the following careers and many of our students have progressed to study subjects as varied as: - Journalism - Medicine - Law - Education - Writing - Teaching - Politics - Armed Forces - Emergency Services