Politics A Level (AQA)

Sixth Form

Syllabus: AQA

Course Specification : 7152

Course Overview

Politics enables students to develop their critical thinking skills and enhance their ability to interpret, evaluate and comment on the nature of politics. In Year 12 students will concentrate on Britain politics (Paper 1) and will begin a comparative study of the politics of the USA (Paper 2). In Year 13 we finish the American politics unit and then undertake a course in Ideologies (Paper 3), looking at the big ideas of modern politics.

Course Requirements

5 GCSEs grade 9–5 including Maths at grade 5 and English at grade 6 or History at grade 6.

Year 1

Unit 1: Government and Politics of the UK

The British Constitution
Parliament
The Executive
The Supreme Court
Devolution
Democracy and participation
Elections and voting
Political parties
The European Union

Unit 2: The Government of the USA and comparative politics (Part I)

The Constitution of the USA
The Legislature: Congress

Year 2

Unit 2: The Government of the USA and comparative politics (Part II)

The Executive: the Presidency
The Judiciary: the Supreme Court
Democracy and participation
Civil Rights

Unit 3: Political Ideologies

Liberalism
Conservatism
Socialism
Nationalism

Assessment

Year 12

The course is linear but there will be a Mock exam in the summer term of Year 12.

Year 13

Each unit is assessed by a written exam of 2 hours – a mixture of medium length ‘explain’ and essay type questions. Each paper is worth 77 marks. Each of the 3 papers is worth one third of the A-level.

Additional Information

It is envisaged that the course would be supported by ongoing liaison with the House of Commons Education Department and the United States Embassy; guided trips to Parliament and regular workshops with guest speakers – members of pressure groups, pollsters and journalists. A working holiday to Washington D.C. would also be a (long term aspirational) element of the Year 13 Syllabus.

Sixth Form