History

Course summary

We are privileged to be able to offer A Level History in its intended 2-year linear form. This allows us the time and space to properly approach the exacting demands of the A Level course and examination with sufficient rigour, vigour and depth. We prepare students, from the outset, for the intellectual demands of the synoptic questions they will ultimately face. The new A Level allows our teachers and students the opportunity to delve into the study of history in all of its breadth and richness: to draw trends across broad periods of time, and expose the stories and quirks of human nature. Unit 1: The British Empire: 1857–1957 This breadth unit will examine the changes and continuities of British rule across the 19th and 20th centuries from Australia to Africa. The course contrasts the impact of the British in different countries – notably India, and in Africa. With a long timeframe, it looks at the origins of imperialism, the development and broadening of British control, and how the coming of two world wars first weakened, and then ended it. It will look at the impact on indigenous culture, and on its meaning and importance. Unit 2: The Birth of the USA: 1760–1801 The Depth Unit component studies the British relationship with its American colonies in the forty-one-year period from 1760 until 1801. It traces the decline in relationships from one of unity to strain and then war. In doing so, we examine the motivation for the Revolution –liberty, sovereignty and self-determination – and follow the course of the war of independence with a survey of how unexpected victory brought the challenge of creating a new Republic. Unit 3: Historical Investigation (NEA) (Non-Examined Assessment) A major attraction of the course is the opportunity to do some real historical research around a topic the student feels passionate about and interested in. This is a great opportunity to use original source material and become immersed in historical debate. Students can choose an enquiry from the fascinating taught course on: “Race relations in the USA 1865–1968”, from the end of the American Civil War to the memorable events of the 1960s. The actions of Martin Luther King and the legacy of Black radicalism of the 1970s are contrasted with the impact of grass-roots protest groups of women, students and intellectuals. The changes and continuities of the lives of African-Americans are brought alive through this dynamic taught unit.