English LiteratureA Level

You don’t need any previous qualifications to take this course, but a C in GCSE English Literature is recommended.

You must be based in the UK in order to enrol and sit your exams.

If English is your second language, we recommend you have an IELTS 5.5 or equivalent, but we’re happy to review your case on an individual basis.

This online course will teach you the AQA English Literature A Level specification (7712).

You'll study the following texts, plus some of your own choice:

• Othello by Shakespeare
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Skirrid Hill by Owen Sheers
• All My Sons by Arthur Miller 
• Spies by Michael Frayn
• A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller 
• The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

The course is split into 3 units:

• Love through the ages
• Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day
• Texts across time

For full details of what you’ll learn on each unit, download our A Level English Literature course guide.

Please note that you’re responsible for booking your exams, and that you must be based in the UK to sit them.

You’ll arrange to sit them at a UK school or college roughly 6 months before your chosen exam date.

There are 2 exams for the AQA English Literature A Level specification (7712):

• Paper 1: Love through the ages
• Paper 2: Texts in shared contexts: Modern times: literature from 1945 to the present day

One piece of coursework will also count towards your final grade:

• Written coursework: Texts across time

As an approved AQA centre, we'll supervise, authenticate and mark your coursework. You'll sit your exams at your chosen exam centre.

Your coursework fees of £169.75 are additional to the course cost. You'll also pay exam centre fees directly to your chosen exam centre.

We’re the world’s most experienced online learning provider, having been pioneers in flexible learning for 130 years.

We're rated Excellent from more than 8,000 independent student reviews.

We make it easy to shape learning around your life with our flexible schedule, unlimited support, and interest-free payment plans.

That's why every year, we help thousands of students like you get the A Levels they need to succeed.

Yes, it’s exactly the same.

You’ll sit the same A Level English Literature exams at the same time as all the other students in the UK, and you’ll receive the same results, transcript and qualification.

Your A Level will be accepted by universities, colleges and employers worldwide, exactly as if you'd studied in school or college.

Your qualification is accredited by AQA, the largest A Level awarding body. They set and mark the exams for around half of all A Levels taken in the UK each year.

Right away! There’s no need to wait until September to enrol – you can begin your course at any time.

Once you enrol, you’ll be able to log in to your course and get started by the next working day.

You must source the set texts for this course. Many can be found cheaply second-hand, or for free online.

The recommended editions are:

• Othello, Shakespeare (Arden, Third Series) ISBN 978-1903436455
• The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (Penguin Modern Classics, 2000), ISBN 9780141182636
• Skirrid Hill, by Owen Sheers (Seren, 2005), ISBN 978-1854114037
• All My Sons, Arthur Miller (Penguin Modern Classics, 2009) ISBN 978-0141189970
• Spies, Michael Frayn (Faber and Faber, 2011) ISBN 978-0571268856
• A View from the Bridge, Arthur Miller (Penguin Modern Classics, 2010, introduction from the author and Philip Seymour Hoffman) ISBN 978-0141189963
• The Yellow Wallpaper, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, from The Yellow Wallpaper and Selected Writings, (Virago), ISBN 978-1844085583

• Unlimited support
• 24/7 access to the Student Community, your all-in-one online learning platform
• Interactive online learning broken down into easy-to-follow units
• Practice tests and mock exams marked by your tutor
• Student forums so you can connect and share advice with other English students
• Friendly student services team, so you’re never more than a message or phone call away from a helping hand

You'll also have unlimited lifetime access to our Career Hub, giving you thousands of resources to help you impress employers, master critical business skills, and build your dream career. It includes:

• A CV and cover letter builder
• An interview simulator
• An elevator pitch builder
• Career and work psychology assessments
• In-depth industry and employer profiles
• 350+ employer films with practical advice from hiring managers
• 1000+ short courses, articles and videos on key career skills like negotiating a raise and leading a team

You can take a sneak peek at the Career Hub by signing up for free here.§

Roughly 6 months before your chosen exam date, you should book your place at an exam centre to take the AQA English Literature A Level specification (7712) exam.

Your exam centre could be a school or college that's also submitting its own students for the exam, or it could be a private exam centre. Our partner centre, Tutors & Exams, has five exam venues across England and offers various discounts to ICS Learn students. 

AQA publish a list of exam centres that may accept private candidates. This won’t cover every available centre, so if there’s nothing shown in your area, we recommend contacting local schools and colleges directly.

Please note that you can't sit AQA A Level exams outside the UK.

Your exam fees aren’t included in the course cost as they’re paid directly to the exam centre. They’ll vary depending on which centre you choose.

If you’d like to pay in full, you can enrol online using the ‘Add to Basket’ button at the top of the page.

If you’d like to set up an interest-free payment plan, get in touch with our A Level Advisors on 0800 015 3326.

If you have any disabilities which you think might affect your studies or assessments, please tell your Course Advisor before you enrol so we can advise you on whether reasonable adjustments can be made to accommodate your needs.

If you’re funding the course yourself, our flexible 0% payment plans allow you to spread the cost with interest-free monthly instalments. We manage all our payment plans in-house, so there are no third parties or credit checks.

If your employer is funding all or part of your course, we can invoice them directly for your course fees – just let your course advisor know and we’ll arrange everything.

We also accept funding through ELCAS for this course. If you’re an Armed Forces member looking to use the Enhanced Learning Credits Scheme, speak to our course advisors for more details.