A Level History

• Course Information
• Student Resources

Course Information

Advanced Subsidiary	AS
Advanced Level	A2
Examination Board	WJEC

"The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."

- P. HARTLEY from his novel 'The Go Between'.

1. What is History A-Level all about?

Everything has a History. History is all around us - it shapes our world and we play our part in it, but there is so much more to History than just the story. There is also the 'mystery' of History. The nature of historical evidence is that much of it is unreliable, incomplete or even contradictory. It is the job of the historian, even at A-Level, to seek out the truth, to find out what we can trust, just like a detective trying to solve a crime.

"Historians are dangerous people."

Nikita Krushchev, Soviet Premier [1956-64]

2. Content and Assessment - What will you be asked to do?

"You see but you do not observe"

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The WJEC History A-Level consists of two different study areas:

STUDY AREA 1 - Aspects of British History c. 1815-1914 (period study)
STUDY AREA 2 - The German Reformation c. 1517 - 1555 (in-depth study)

The AS Qualification

• Unit 1 [45 minute exam]
  Britain 1815-1832 OR British Foreign Policy 1815-1865 OR Social Reform 1815-1846
• Unit 2 [45 min. exam]
  Disraelian Conservatism 1846-1880 OR Gladstonian Liberalism 1868-1893
• Unit 3 [1 hour 30 minute exam]
  Document questions on the reasons for and consequences of the Protestant Reformation in Germany

The A2 Qualification

• Unit 4 [1hr 30 min exam]
  British Foreign Policy 1878-1914 AND Politics and Society 1880-1914
• Unit 5 [3 hour exam]
  A detailed documentary study of a debate in the Protestant Reformation EITHER a coursework assignment OR an examination paper set by the WJEC but which students would be allowed to take the sources they need and their notes.
• Unit 6 [1 hour 40 minutes exam]
  Growth of Working Class Movements 1815-1914 OR Foreign Policy 1815-1914 AND Catholic Church & Reformation 1517-1555 OR Luther and the spread of Lutheranism 1517-1555

General Tasks for both AS and A2 History:

• * working with historical sources and documents to discover how useful they are
• * explaining particular historical situation and problems
• * making judgements about the opinion of contemporaries and later historians

 

3. Why Should You Choose History?

"The curious incident of the dog in the night-time. "

"The dog did nothing in the night-time."

"That was the curious incident."

- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from 'The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes'

Here are three ideas that people in the past have had about History:

1. "Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past” - George Orwell, from his novel '1984'.
2. History will teach us nothing " - Sting (title of a song).
3. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - George Santayana.

Question: Which of these views is the most accurate? How would you work it out?

This is very much what A-Level History is about. Not just finding out what happened, not learning inconsequential details by heart. It is about being able to make judgements about validity of evidence or the correctness of opinions. It is about using information to explain why things happen, what consequences they might have, and whether or not they are important.

With an AS or A2 qualification in History, you will have developed these valuable skills, skills which have a wide variety of applications, not just in the heritage industry or education, but also in professions like journalism and the law.

4. Entry Requirements

Besides the standard requirements to enter the Maelor School Sixth Form, it is important to have a grade B or above in GCSE Humanities, History or Geography. These qualifications will show that you already have some of the basic skills that A-Level History will have to build on.

You must, however, bear inmind what a History course involves - a lot of reading, a lot of trying to work things out for yourself and you must also remember that History is assessed through the medium of writing, in both work and essays.

TEACHER IN CHARGE: Mr. R. Quinn

Student Resources