Creative Writing Soon to be Part of A-levels

Good news for students wanting to have more subject choices for earning AS and A-level qualifications. The first creative writing course of its kind at A-level in the UK will soon give aspiring authors, playwrights and poets the chance to explore and hone their talents in prose fiction, non-fiction, poetry or script writing for page, performance, radio, screen or digital media.

As creative writing courses are becoming increasingly popular at university level, now they are going to be introduced at A-level. This will allow aspiring writers to make a route through school or college before proceeding to higher education and professional practice.

Creative writing is also not only for budding writers or artists as it encourages original thinking in students, which along with learning technical skills will benefit any student no matter what field they are inclined to pursue.

The course will examine how students write in different forms such as prose and poetry as well as different content types ranging from travel writing to poetry or script writing.

Part of a student’s exam is to write a piece of creative work in response to another published material. Students will need to show examiners their understanding of the techniques and styles used by the author.

The AQA exam board is the first to offer the exam from the autumn. The course is developed in close consultation with the National Association of Writers in Education (NAWE). According to AQA chief executive Andrew Hall, the course will produce “bold, confident writers across a range of styles” to address business leaders’ calls for sharper writing skills from students and graduates they employ.

The methods of the creative writing course, together with exams and coursework aims to cultivate “strong writing and communication skills” that its students can use not only when writing novels and screenplays, but also if they choose to gain employment after graduation.