Politics
We aim to equip students with the skills needed to be the very best thinkers, analysts and communicators. The synoptic nature of the curriculum arms students with the knowledge and skills needed to understand the evolving world around them. Students are given opportunities to become intellectually dexterous enough to be able to analyse current events, as well as being able to do the same for the past. Learners are prepared for informed debate and to seek out the ‘bigger picture’, using a myriad of resources to gain a greater appreciation of how decisions made have a direct impact on people’s lives. Politics students are given the opportunity to express themselves in a confident and articulate manner and should leave the course with an extensive skill set that prepares them for a range of future endeavours.
Key stage 5 (years 12 & 13)
Students follow the AQA A Level Politics specification, covering the objectives outlined below. Students receive eight hours of Politics teaching a fortnight.
To develop student’s knowledge and understanding in the following key areas:
- Structures of government in UK & USA
- Nature of constitutions in UK & USA
- Democracy & participation in UK & USA
- Current political context in UK & USA
- Political ideologies
To develop student’s skills and sense of enquiry in the following key areas:
- Independent research
- Evidence - informed debate/discussion
- Construction of written arguments
- Extract evaluation & critical analysis of source-based material
- Acquisition of political vocabulary, synoptically linked throughout the course
To develop students’s thinking and evaluation skills in the following key areas:
- Effectiveness of government
- Judgement on modern political issues
- Comparative evaluation between UK/US politics
- Judgement on how political landscape has changed over time
- Comparison of political ideologies
The A Level course is assessed through three examinations which students sit at the end of the course.
Additional Opportunities
The department runs a yearly trip to the House of Commons and the Supreme Court, as well as a biannual trip to the USA (New York & Washington DC).
The faculty offers a ‘digging deeper’ super curriculum which is available to all students via Google Classroom