Politics A Level

Applications Open - 16 January 2026

Applications Close - 13 February 2026

Entry Requirements - check with school

How to Apply - Via school website only

Notes for external students - Subject to references from your current school, one of the Sixth Form team will be in touch to discuss your subject choices and field any questions you may have.

Notes for internal students - After year 11 parents consultation and trial exam grades.

This exciting contemporary course studies the implications and practice of different political systems, as well as in depth studies into different political ideologies. Politics deal with such ideas as power, authority, rights, liberty and justice, and examines contemporary politics as it occurs today. It is an up-to-the minute subject, which involves not only academic study but opinions and analysis based upon careful use of newspapers, radio and television.

This course comprises of 3 terminal exams at the end of year 13, covering the following topics:

• Government & Politics of the UK, including:

• UK constitution, UK Parliament, prime minister, political parties, elections, devolution and pressure groups
• The UK’s relationship with the EU
• Comparative paper – comparing the political institutions of the UK and US

• Government & Politics of the USA, including:

• US Constitution, legislative framework, executive branch, Supreme Court, electoral process, pressure groups and civil rights

• Core political ideologies – Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism, plus one from the following:

• Nationalism, Multiculturalism, Ecologism, Feminism and Anarchism

Please refer to the course content section.

Other than the school entrance requirements, there are no formal expectations. But you are recommended to have achieved a reasonable standard in written English, and have an obvious interest in contemporary events.

All applications to Gravesend Grammar School Sixth Form must be made directly via our website. Our sixth form information evening is on Wednesday 13th January at 7pm, applications open on Thursday 14th January.

The course is one of the most useful entry qualifications for a wide range of Arts, Humanities and Social Science degrees, and is highly valued by employers who seek recruits with an obvious interest in people and contemporary issues.