History

Why choose History?

You enjoy History — that’s why you chose it for GCSE, right? You were interested in what you studied for GCSE. You liked finding information for yourself, questioning historical sources, looking at both sides of the argument and making your own. History is both interesting and useful. As a History student, you will never experience the events that you study; instead you have to build up a picture from the evidence that remains. You have to become skilled at asking questions, so that you do not take everything at face value. You have to develop empathy and understanding of the actions and achievements of others; you have to be prepared to put your case and argue it well; you have to draw conclusions and make judgements. Historians are trained to look for bias and prejudice in all the evidence they study. 

History helps you to make decisions about people and to decide if you trust what they say. These skills are highly desirable in many different careers and A Level History is excellent training for any career where you have to use evidence or make decisions, especially where those decisions affect other people. 

Exam Board: AQA

Course details

We have decided to offer the most popular and well resourced topics available to study at A Level. Here is a flavour of the first few lessons: 

Component One: 

You will be introduced to King Henry VIII whose voracious nature and hot temper have become legendary. He is known for being a man of ferocious appetites — in all aspects of life — and he was prepared to use any means necessary to quell his opposition. The exact number of executions ordered by Henry VIII is generally believed to be between 57,000 and 72,000. As a gruesome aside, he also made ‘death by boiling’ a legitimate form of execution. 

Component Two: 

You will begin to explore how the Nazis came to power, how they ruled and above all, how a cultured nation could be responsible for such acts of inhumanity as seen in the Holocaust. 

“A Level is a step up from GCSE so there is more independent learning involved but the areas of study are far more interesting.” – CURRENT STUDENT

Careers and higher education

If you enjoy History, it can lead you to a great future. Consider Dermot Murnaghan (journalist), David Sainsbury (Sainsbury’s), Anita Roddick (founder of The Body Shop), Jonathan Ross, Louis Theroux, Melvin Bragg, Gordon Brown, Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G/Borat), Al Murray, Michael Palin (Monty Python), Prince Charles, Lord Coe, Chris Martin of Coldplay and Shakira — all History graduates! 

Grade 6 or higher at GCSE. 

Classics, English and Religious Studies.