Qualification aims and objectives

History is more than the study of the past. It is the process of recording, reconstructing, and interpreting the past through the investigation of a variety of sources and interpretations.

The course provides both structure and flexibility, fostering an understanding of major historical events in a global context. It requires students to make comparisons between similar and dissimilar solutions to common human situations, whether they be political, economic or social. It invites comparisons between, but not judgments of, different cultures, political systems and national traditions.

Course outline and asssement

Students will study the following:

Paper 1: Rights and Protests (worth 20%)

• The Civil Rights movement in the USA and the South African Apartheid.

Paper 2: World History (worth 25%)

• Authoritarian States (Hitler’s Germany & Mao’s China)
• The Cold War:  Superpower tensions and rivalries (20th Century)

Paper 3: The History of Europe (worth 35%)

• Europe and the First World War 1871-1918
• Imperial Russia, revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union 1855-1924
• The Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia 1924-2000

Internal Assessment (worth 20%)

• You will complete a historical investigation on a topic of your choice

You will be assessed through three external examinations as well as your Internal Assessment

Where could this course lead?

History is the most chosen subject from GCSE through to a Masters qualification. The reason for this is because employers love what history shows about an individual’s character. If somebody passes history well it shows a wide range of desirable skills which employers want, examples are – organised, analytical, thoughtful and considered in approach, able to coherently convey an opinion based in knowledge. All of this could literally lead you in a plethora of jobs, the list is endless, from teaching to finance, a reporter/ journalist to a curator of a museum, from a heritage manager to a hedge fund manager, the list is quite literally endless for you.