Overview
English Literature A Level at Mercia School follows AQA Specification B – Tragedy and Social and Political Protest. Choosing to study tragedy means our selected texts delve into the deepest aspects of the human condition, while Social and Political Protest explores literature’s unique capacity to expose injustice and catalyse rebellion.
Our text selection includes Othello, Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy of love, jealousy, and betrayal; Death of a Salesman, Miller’s powerful modern tragedy that exposes the fragility of the American Dream; A Doll’s House, Ibsen’s ground-breaking play of female independence; The Kite Runner, Hosseini’s moving story of friendship and redemption set against the backdrop of conflict in Afghanistan; the sensuous and profoundly beautiful poetry of John Keats; and, finally, the visionary and radical poetry of William Blake.
Additionally, the course involves a Non-Exam Assessment (NEA) coursework element worth 20% of the final grade. This provides the opportunity for pupils to draft, refine, and perfect their writing craft through two 1500-word essays, each analysing a chosen text through a critical lens. Whether it is feminism, Marxism, postcolonialism, or ecocriticism, learning to apply these critical approaches will illuminate our scholars’ understanding of not just the text, but society itself.
Entry requirements
Grade 7 in GCSE English Literature and Language.
Course content
Year 12
- Paper 1 – Othello; Death of a Salesman
- NEA (coursework – critical lenses applied to poetry and prose)
- Keats
- Blake
- Mock revision paper 1
- Unseen Social and Political Unrest Writing
Year 13
- Paper 2 – The Kite Runner, Blake, A Doll’s House, Unseen Social and Political Unrest Writing
- Revision
Assessment
80% Examination; 20% coursework.
Exam board
AQA