Politics (A Level)

Course Specification	AQA A-level Politics
Subject Specific Entry Requirements	Grade 5 in English Language; Grade 5 in English Literature or a humanities subject.
Costs Associated with this Course	Students are requested to purchase relevant text books (approx. £20-50.00 over the two-year course)

Do you/are you…

- interested in how we are governed in the UK? Who has influence over your lives? How this changes?

- think about some of the major issues and why they are important? This could be the laws that affect you, environmental change, education policy……..

- intrigued by ideas and how they affect us? Why do we have a government? Are there any alternatives? Why do some people think change is a bad thing? What new ideas might have an impact on our lives?

- what do the major political parties stand for? How do they represent the people of Britain?

- wonder how elections work? What difference does voting make and why do people vote in a certain way?

All these, and so much more, are political questions. If you want to understand how power works in Britain and parts of the world then politics might be the course for you.

How will I be assessed?

Paper 1 – Government & Politics in the UK – 2 hour exam, 77 marks, 33.3% of the final grade

Paper 2 – The government & politics if the USA– 2 hour exam, 77 marks, 33.3% of the final grade

Paper 3 – Political ideas - – 2 hour exam, 77 marks, 33.3% of the final grade

What will I study?

Year 12 – You will start Year 12 with Paper 1 – Government & Politics of the UK. This looks at the British constitution (how the country works), where laws come from, the role of parliament & government, the role of the prime minister, power in Scotland & Wales, the role of elections, why people vote in a certain way, political parties. You will produce a mixture of shorter/ medium length answers as well as some longer essays. You will complete this unit about halfway through Year 12.

The second unit in Year 12 will compare the USA with the UK. This is the Paper 2 - Government & Politics of the USA. You will study the US constitution, presidency, congress, elections and the role of the Supreme Court. There will be some comparison with the UK and assessment will again be a mixture of shorter and longer form essay questions. You will complete this unit in Year 12.

Year 13 – You will study Paper 3 - Political Ideas as your final unit. This examines ideologies such as Liberalism, Conservatism, Fascism and Socialism.. We also look at Nationalism and Feminism too. As well as understanding the ideology we will investigate the impact they have through policies and actions.

This will leave us time for revision for the remainder of Year 13.

How will this course support my future plans?

Politics has relevance across a number of career paths. You may wish to work in government and affect the way decisions are made. This could be in parliament or local councils. Also, politics is linked with a range of civil service and consultancy organisations where key strategic decisions are made.

Other possible careers include journalism, law and education. In short, there are a number of career options that politics students go onto. The key thing is that future employers realise politics students have a good grip on major issues and can use this effectively. Politics is a wide ranging course with relevance for all our lives. It helps us become better informed citizens. You will get to understand how the country you live in actually works. It fosters all the skills below which are so valuable in the 21^st Century:

Research and examine information critically
Analyse evidence and construct arguments
Improve verbal as well as written skills
Teamwork
Intellectual independence

Student thoughts:

“I never realised quite how important studying politics was! It has taught me so much about how the country runs. This will definitely help me a lot for life after 6^th form”

“There are so many interesting issues that we learn about and discuss. I’ve really enjoyed finding out about parliament so far as I didn’t realise all the things that happen there”

“Political ideas are so interesting. It seems to affect so much of what is going on around us.”

“I really enjoyed learning about the different leaders and looking at prime ministers. Some of them have used their power so differently. It was really interesting. I now want to study politics at University”