History

Assessment

This Edexcel course is comprised of three exam papers and one` piece of coursework. The first two papers look at democracies in transition in the 20th Century: Paper 1, change in Britain 1918-97 with a special interpretations focus on the impact of Margaret Thatcher’s governments (30% of the overall A-level grade). Paper 2 is worth 20% of the A-level grade and considers the idea of conformity and challenge in the USA 1920-55. Paper 3 looks at the unique period in European and North American history when thousands of women were accused of and persecuted for the crime of witchcraft (30% of the overall grade). All three papers require students to write structured and well supported essays and involve an element of source and/ or interpretations analysis. The coursework, which is worth 20% of the A-level grade, involves the undertaking of individual research and interpretation on a matter of historical controversy which culminates in a 4,000 word essay.