History

Applications Open - 10th November 2025

Applications Close - 31st January 2026

Entry Requirements - For entry into year 12 to begin A Level and/or vocational courses, students must meet the minimum requirements in English and Mathematics (grade 4), however most courses require significantly higher grades in certain other GCSE subjects to access them.

How to Apply -

• Internal students – apply via Applicaa (school have emailed all students a link)
• External Students – apply using Applicaa from the Trinity School website under Sixth Form - Apply here

Students are required to study a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 4 subjects.

If we apply this knowledge to the present, governments, businesses and individuals can learn lessons from past mistakes or successes and make informed choices about our futures. For example, economists might look at the causes of the recent recession and past economic problems and work with politicians to avoid them happening again.

In History we study lots of different sources and learn that events are often the result of complex and multiple factors. Politics, communication, beliefs, misunderstandings and even the environment can shape the way things turn out. Studying History can also be inspiring. When we discover what people have achieved against the odds and how things can change over time, it can give us the motivation we need to succeed.

Skills Acquired
History teaches us to ask two very important questions: why and how. This is key to sharpening critical thinking abilities, which combine the following skills: analysis, research, essay writing, communication, problem solving, argumentation. Historians look at all the available evidence and come to conclusions, a lot like a good detective, which helps them learn to be organised and manage information. You will also begin to build hypotheses and be able to dissect conflicting claims for agenda and utility.

Students Suited To The Course
A student suited to the course will have the following attributes:

• An interest in History that will push them to do wider reading
• Very good literacy skills and an aptitude with the English language
• An ability to work independently with intrinsic motivation to succeed
• Exceptional organisation and the ability to meet deadlines
• A desire to ask questions and a critical approach to source material
• A desire to develop exceptional research and analytical skills

What Other Subjects It Combines Well With
Everything has a history and no arts or science subject can fail to be enriched by an awareness of how it has been applied to human society through the ages. You may have already studied the history of scientific ideas as part of your GCSE and so will be aware of this. History combines well with Mathematics and Science subjects to create an attractive portfolio of subjects for a student to move on to a science based course. Combined with English and social sciences it would provide a good basis for arts or humanities based courses. The Russell Group universities regard History as a facilitating subject and expect applications to study at least one facilitating subject.

Course Structure

Year 12 - Paper 1 and Paper 2 running concurrently
Year 13 - Paper 2 and coursework running concurrently

Unit Content

Year 12
Paper 1: Option 1H: Britain transformed, 1918-97 (30%)
Paper 2: Option 2H.2 The USA, 1955-92: conformity and challenge (20%)

Year 13
Paper 3: Option 35.1: Britain: losing and gaining an empire, 1763-1914 (30%)
Coursework (20%)

• Independent study
• • Historical Debates surrounding the Holocaust
  
  

Three exams and one coursework module. Paper 1 will be on the British part of the course, paper 2 will be on the American aspect of the course and paper 3 is on the world depth study. Students will examine the historiography surrounding the implementation of and the responsibility for the Holocaust and produce a 4,000 word piece of coursework based around one of the key historical debates. All exams are completed at the end of Year 13.

GCSE grade 6 in History and grade 5 in English Language or English Literature. It may be possible to study History if you have not studied it at GCSE. This would depend upon a student's academic profile.

The skills you will obtain through studying history will be useful in a number of careers, either directly related to History (e.g. working in museums, galleries, heritage sites, record offices and archives and teaching), or in areas such as law, research, accountancy, banking, management, journalism, media, libraries, national and local government and the civil service. You can progress to higher education courses such as honours degrees in History, or to degrees in related subjects such as Law, Politics, English Literature, Economics or Geography. A Level History will give you a number of skills relevant to many types of employment, such as the ability to seek information and to analyse it in order to identify facts and motives and to present information clearly for others to understand.