ABSTRACT
The background tensIons , you will have no doubt noticed, lie at the heart of every facet of the teaching of English; sixth form work is no exception. A and AS Level English teaching – which constitutes most of post-16 English teaching, in schools at least – is often sought after enthusiastically by newcomers to the profession. However, it is also sometimes withheld by heads of department anxious to safeguard academic teaching, though this happens far less now than it used to. In a sense, this state of affairs mirrored the élitist nature of A levels generally, intended as they were for university preparation for the minority. There was no alternative qualification available for the less academic: those disinclined towards academic study were simply disqualified and expected to seek apprenticeships or employment. The move away from this élitist concept is a slow, ongoing process. Curriculum 2000, introduced in response to the recommendations of the Dearing Committee, has done something to broaden the base of the curriculum at this level. The major implications, running alongside other changes, for English at post-16 have been:
the re-casting of A level into stepped components (AS, usually taken in Year 12, and A2, taken in the following year by those who choose to specialise in English);
the consequent increase in the number of students taking English in Year 12, at AS, as one of five or more subjects; in many school sixth forms and colleges the majority of Year 12 students take some form of English;
greater diversity of available courses, including literature, language, and syllabuses combining the two;
greater emphasis on intertextuality across language and literature courses, partly through the synoptic element in all syllabuses, seeking to evaluate students’ knowledge and understanding of the subject as a whole;
for literature study especially, a stronger sense of the social, cultural and critical context for any given text;
as for all subjects, more frequent testing of students’ progress, at AS and A2 levels and, often, for specific modules; many would say this amounts in effect to overtesting;
the arrival and promotion of Applied A Level courses in a number of pre-vocational areas, many of which have communications components which may be taught by English specialists.
