History has created modern society and is important to our understanding of the world we live in. People mistakenly see history as something ‘fixed’ when in fact the past is open to interpretation and history changes. The victors re-write their nation’s past and give it their own ‘spin’. Ignorance of history prevents us from putting current world conflicts into their proper context. Study history and you will never be taken in by ‘spin’ or become a victim of propaganda. You will always demand: “Where is the evidence? Prove what you claim is true.”

Students studying three A Levels will be expected to have a minimum of two GCSEs at grade 6 and three GCSEs at grade 5/4, including English Language and Mathematics at grade 5/4 or above. Or eight GCSEs at a minimum of grade 5.

1L: The quest for political stability: Germany, 1871–1991

Year 1

• The Kaiserreich, 1871–1914

• Empire to democracy, 1914–1929

Year 2

• The Nazi experiment, 1929–1949 

• The Federal Republic of Germany, 1949–1991

2S: The Making of Modern Britain, 1951–2007

Year 1

• The Affluent Society, 1951–1964

• The Sixties, 1964–1970

• The end of Post-War Consensus, 1970–1979

Year 2

• The impact of Thatcherism, 1979–1987

• Towards a new Consensus, 1987–1997 

• The Era of New Labour, 1997–2007

3C Historical Investigation (non -exam assessment) 

• To what extent were religious factors the main cause of the English Tudor rebellions?

You will study the history of more than one country or state and develop an understanding of more than one period. This will allow you to develop a strong sense of historical perspective, creating greater appreciation of the key features of a period, its particular characteristics and the forces for change. You will also develop greater understanding of the complexity of the historical process, allowing detailed study of the interrelationships between ideas, individuals and circumstances that contribute to change and development.

Skills developed are: to communicate clearly and concisely, both in speech and writing; identify, locate and assess the veracity and validity of evidence, evaluate and reconcile conflicting evidence, draw conclusions from fact rather than opinion.

Course content:

Component 1: The Quest for Political Stability: Germany 1871 – 1991

Component 2: The Making of Modern Britain 1951 – 2007

Coursework: The Tudor Rebellions 1485 – 1603

Components 1 and 2 are written exams and taken at the end of the second year. 

Component 3 is a coursework module based on your own historical investigation: 3000–3500 words and is worth 20% of your overall grade.

Exam Board: AQA

There is the opportunity to complete a one-week work placement in the summer term. We regularly have visits from renowned historians, including Michael Wood.

You will experience outstanding teaching and extensive support to ensure you reach your potential. You will receive a high quality learning experience in A Level History and results are consistently excellent. Students who succeed on this course have gone onto study it in some form at university, including Cambridge and Oxford and have also been part of the Honours Programme. 

A Level History is regarded as a highly academic subject and is well respected by employers and universities alike. We have excellent links with prestigious universities and progression rates to higher education are high.

With high-level skills of investigation, communication and presentation, history graduates are highly employable in all sectors of the economy; especially industry, commerce and the professions. Career pathways include: accounting, banking, law, civil service, media and IT.

We use a variety of teaching and learning styles such as individual learning, paired work, source evaluation, research tasks, past paper questions, discussion and debate and structured tasks.