History AS and A Level

Course Code: S0753-S02811-S0721 Minimum Age: 16 Course Length: One year for AS and two years for a full A Level Full Description:

This subject covers modern European and British history, with themes including nationalism, war and its impact on society, revolution and Fascism. It helps to explain our present and collective past as a story, or a series of stories, whose content shifts according to the storyteller. As George Santayana said, “A country without a memory is a country of madmen.”

Themes of study include nationalism, the impact of war on society, Nazi Germany and the development of British democracy. A typical class will include reading, analysing and evaluating historical sources and discussion.

Trips are organised to local museums and one of the highlights is the optional visit to Berlin in the second year, where history comes alive as visits are made to see the sites of Imperial Berlin, the Weimar Republic and the Nazi regime.

History is academically challenging. To succeed you will need to enjoy reading, think logically and be good at evaluating evidence and opinions. You must also be prepared to read widely and deeply, to work at developing essay writing skills and to think analytically and independently.

Assessment is through exams with essays and there is coursework in the second year.

This A Level could lead on to a related degree course, such as History, Politics or Law, but the skills you will learn, such as thinking and writing clearly and logically and interpreting and evaluating evidence, will be useful in a wide range of other subjects. History is identified by selective universities as one of the subjects they prefer applicants to have studied at A Level.

The skills you will learn at A Level will also help you in a variety of careers such as; in the civil service, law, journalism, teaching, archaeology and museum work.

History can be taken with any other subjects, but students often choose Government and Politics, Law, Sociology or English.

Entry requirements:

• Five GCSEs at grades A*-C including English
• A GCSE average points score of at least 5.0 (see page 16 for details of how this is calculated)
• You do not need to have studied History before, but if you have, you will need to have a GCSE at grade A*-C or equivalent.

Please contact the Advice Shop for details of costs and start dates.

Please note that although the information given is believed to be correct at the time of publication, course information, costs where applicable and attendance details may change.