History A Level

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Entry Requirements: - GCSE grade 5 in English (Language or Literature) and GCSE grade 5 in Mathematics

Entry criteria for individual subjects must be met in order to access those courses.

How to Apply:

External Applicants - please apply via KentChoices

Internal Applicants - there is no need to apply via KentChoices, please visit Talisman for further information

HISTORY

Examining Board: AQA Head of Department: Miss S Bailey

In studying history you will learn

• about the significance of events, the role of individuals and importance of issues

• how and why societies have changed over time

• about different interpretations of history and the language used by historians to discuss their ideas

• to understand the nature of historical evidence and the methods used to analyse and evaluate it

  As well as studying history to an advanced level, this course will enable you to develop key skills, which will be essential to you whatever you go on to do, including: communication, in particular, presenting a coherent argument and backing it up with relevant evidence; problem solving; working with others; and improving your own learning and performance.

  At A-Level, there are three assessment components. Component 1 assesses students’ understanding of breadth and of historical interpretations. Component 2 assesses understanding of depth and of the value of primary sources. Component 3 is a Historical Investigation (non-exam assessment).

  The topics you will study for A Level are:

  Component 1- Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1855-1964 This unit explores arguably the most significant event of the Twentieth Century: the rise of Communism in Russia. Students begin by examining Russia under the rule of the Tsars and the development of the long-term causes of the Russian Revolution. Students will study the rise of revolutionary groups and assess whether Lenin was a visionary revolutionary or a brutal dictator. Conclusions will be drawn about the emergence of the Communist dictatorship, starting with Lenin’s Russia. Students will then look at the establishment of Stalin as leader and how he transformed Russia from a backwards country into one of the two global superpowers, whilst causing famine and ‘purging’ his political rivals. The course ends with the rise of Nikita Khrushchev and how events (including the Cuban Missile Crisis) contributed to the plot to remove him from power.

• Component 2- Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition, 1906-1957 This unit studies a transformative period of British history, at a time when British society underwent dramatic change. Students begin by examining the Liberal governments at the start of the 20th Century and assessing how divisions in British society required leaders, such as Lloyd George, to propose enormous change. Students will study the impact of World War One on Britain, including the role of women and the impact of Irish Nationalism and the violent suppression of the Easter Rising. They will then look at the ‘Hungry Thirties’ and how economic crisis led to an unstable country threatened by fascism and communism, before finally investigating World War Two and the role played by Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee in forming the country we live in today, including the creation of the NHS.

History

Entry Criteria: GCSE grade 6 in History

plus: GCSE grade 5 in English (Language or Literature) and GCSE grade 5 in Mathematics