ABSTRACT
What’s your image of the perfect A Level English Literature classroom? Small groups? Enthusiastic readers? The chance to explore ideas? The lessons you look forward to above all others? People outside the teaching profession often imagine that teaching English Literature at A Level is the pinnacle of the English teacher’s career. Their image of the A Level classroom (frequently coloured by nostalgia for their own A Level days) is of a place where highly-motivated students congregate to learn from inspirational teachers and encounter texts that will have a lasting impact on their lives. Some of us are lucky enough to experience this environment for real; and every year thousands of young people are challenged, stimulated and enthused by their study of English Literature at A Level, and by the teachers who guide them. Those of us who work in the post-16 sector, however, will know that A Level is also a highly pressurised experience for both teachers and students, dominated by rising class sizes and the ever-present demands of the assessment system. Beginning teachers often fi nd the reality of A Level very diffi cult, particularly if they look back on their own A Level days as what Richard Jacobs (2010: 1) has described as an ‘emotional high-point’ when their love of the subject fi rst crystallised. How, then, can you prepare yourself for the challenges of A Level teaching?
