This article considers interview and questionnaire data collected in a large-scale study of students of English making the transition between sixth form and university and their teachers at both post-16 and university levels. Drawing on philosophical perspectives derived from Pierre Bourdieu, it discusses a set of issues surrounding curricular formations of English at post-16 and higher education levels in the United Kingdom (UK) context. It identifies how curricular formations impact upon students' experiences and conceptualisations of subject, notions of pedagogy, and the relationship between students and teaching staff at the point of transition.