Politics

Applications Open: Thursday, 27th November 2025 from 5pm.

Applications Close: Friday, 13th February 2026.

Entry requirements: • All students must gain 5 passes at Grade 4 or above at GCSE (or the equivalent for vocational qualifications) including a pass in English and / or Maths.

How to apply:

Internal Students - please use the schools internal system: https://www.studentoptions.co/sixthform/

External Students - please use KentChoices. Log in to get started here.

Students should be confident at extended or essay writing, students should have an interest in politics or political ideology. Students should be confident with humanities or social science subjects such as History, General Studies, or Sociology.

• There are three components that make up the A-Level Politics qualification.

• The first component is UK Politics. In this component, students will examine core political ideologies and will look at the elements that make up political participation: the concept of democracy, political parties, electoral systems, voting behaviour and the media.

• The second component is UK Government. In this component, students will look at alternative political ideologies and will look at the elements that make up the UK Government: the constitution, parliament, the role of the Prime Minister and the executive branch, and the relationship between the branches of government.

• The final component is Comparative Politics. In this component, students will examine the US political system as a case study and will compare and contrast it to the UK system.

100% Examination

There are three written examinations, each lasting 2 hours.

• Paper 1: UK Politics. 84 marks. 33.3% of the overall grade.

• Paper 2: UK Government. 84 marks. 33.3% of the overall grade.

• Paper 3: Comparative Politics (USA). 84 marks. 33.3% of the overall grade.

Grade 4 in a Humanities subjects OR Grade 4 in English if new to subject.

A level Politics is a good subject to learn with other humanities or social sciences such as History, Sociology or Law. Students can go on to study similar subjects at university.