History

Learn more about History

• Why study this subject?
• Which examination board?
• Does the AS count towards the A Level or is it a standalone qualification?
• How will you be assessed?
• What is the outline content over 2 years?

Why study this subject?

• Develop your interest in, and enthusiasm for, history.
• Learn how to make links and comparisons across the past and be able to communicate this in a variety of ways.
• Build on your understanding of the past through experiencing an exciting, broad and balanced course.
• Become effective and independent students who are critical and reflective thinkers with curious and enquiring minds.
• Develop the ability to ask relevant and significant questions about the past and to research them.

History is greatly valued by universities and employers alike because of these transferable skills that you will develop.

Which Examination Board?

WJEC

Does the AS count towards the A Level or is it a standalone qualification?

The AS counts towards the A Level. All students will sit the AS at the end of Year 12.

How will you be assessed?

AS

Unit 1: Period study (Government, Rebellion and Society in Wales and England, 1485-1603)

Assessment

• written examination: 1 hour 30 minutes
• essay questions
• 60 marks
• 20% of A Level

Unit 2: Depth Study (Part 1 – Weimar Germany, 1918-1933)

Assessment

• written examination: 1 hour 45 minutes
• evidence-based questions with a focus on evaluating contemporary sources and historical interpretations
• 60 marks
• 20% of A Level

A Level

Unit 3: Breadth Study (The American Century, 1890-1990)

Assessment

• written examination: 1 hour 45 minutes
• essay questions
• 60 marks
• 20% of the A Level

Unit 4: Depth Study (Part 2 – Nazi Germany, 1933-1945)

Assessment

• written examination: 1 hour 45 minutes
• one evidence-based question and one essay question
• 60 marks
• 20% of the A Level

Unit 5: Non-examined Assessment (NEA)

A personal study based on a topic related to Unit 3.

Assessment

• a written response of 3000-4000 words
• marked by teachers
• moderated by WJEC
• 60 marks
• 20% of the A Level

What is the outline content over 2 years?

Year 12

Unit 1

• The significance of the main changes in politics and government, 1485-1603: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I
• Developments in religion, 1529-1588
• Protest and rebellion, 1509-1569
• Social and economic change under the Tudors
• The changing relationship between Wales and England after 1530

Unit 2

• The establishment and early years of Weimar, 1918-1923
• The‘Golden Age’ of the Weimar Republic, 1924-1929
• The changing fortunes of the Nazi Party, 1924-1933
• The crisis of the Weimar Republic, 1929-1933

Unit 5 Non-examined assessment (NEA)

• The status of African Americans in the USA 1890-1990

Year 13

Unit 3

• The struggle for civil rights in the USA, 1890-1990
• The making of a superpower: US foreign policy, 1890-1990

Unit 4

• Nazi control of Germany after 1933
• The impact of Nazi racial, social and religious practices, 1933-1945
• The effectiveness of Nazi economic policy, 1933-1945
• Changing Nazi foreign policy and the Second World War, 1933-1945

Unit 5 Non-examined assessment (NEA)

• The status of African Americans in the USA 1890-1990