Overview
Everything happening around us today has been influenced by and is a result of what has happened in the past. History can help us predict what could happen in the future. Students develop transferable skills of analysis, prioritisation, drawing conclusions, decision making and effective communication.
Key Facts
- 5 September 2022
- 3 January 2023
- Bournemouth
- Brighton
- Oxford
- Academic: Completed 10 years of schooling (GCSE or equivalent)
- English: IELTS 5.5 or equivalent
- 2 Academic Years (3 terms)
- We also offer entry from Year 12
- Average 7 hours per week for each A-level subject (plus homework and private study)
Learning outcomes
- Gain UK national university entrance qualification
- Raise English to university level
- Develop study skills required at degree level
- Develop specialist subject expertise
Course content and structure
The following content outline is based on the Edexcel exam board. Please note that exam boards may vary from college to college.
Edexcel A level History specification offers a wide and stimulating choice of content including British, European and world history, with options covering areas such as Medieval England and the British Empire. Schools can design their own teaching programmes.
Sample content
Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VII, 1399– 1509
- Changing relationships between crown and the nobility: ‘overmighty subjects’
- Changes in the sinews of power
Rebellion and disorder under the Tudors, 1485–1603
- Changes in governance at the centre
- Gaining the cooperation of the localities
The Golden Age of Spain, 1474–1598
- Changing geographical reach of Spanish power
- Changing military and financial power
The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750
- Changing attitudes to witchcraft in Britain
- The wider intellectual context: the coming of the age of science and reason
Industrialisation and social change in Britain, 1759–1928
- Changing patterns of adult work and working conditions
- The world of childhood
Poverty, public health and the state in Britain, c1780–1939
- The impetus for public health reforms
- Changes in public health
Britain: losing and gaining an empire, 1763–1914
- The changing nature and extent of trade
- The changing Royal Navy, 1763–191
The British experience of warfare, c1790–1918
- Changes in organising the military
- Changes in the role of the people
Typical A-level subject combinations with History
- History, Politics and Government, Geography
- History, Geography and Art
- History, Politics or Economics and Maths
- History, Economics and Geography
Sample enrichment activities
- Houses of Parliament trip
- Bletchley Park visit
- History Film Club
- Trinity Arts Awards
- Current Affairs and News Club
- Debating Society
Sample academic calendar (2021-2022)
Year 1
- 6th: term starts
- Student induction
- 18 – 22th: half term
- Progress tests
- University fairs and talks
- 10th: term ends
- End of term exams
- 10th – 11th: half term
- Progress tests
- University fairs
- End of term exams
- 18th: term ends
Year 2
- 17th – 21st: half term
- 15th October: UCAS deadline (Medicine)
- Progress tests
- University fairs and talks
- 9h: term ends
- End of term exams
- 2nd: term starts
- 15th January: UCAS deadline (other subjects)
- 9 – 10th: half term
- Progress tests
- 17th: term ends
- Mock exams
- 3rd: term starts
- Progress tests
Recommended reading
Below is a list of books which may help you prepare for your studies prior to arrival. Please note that additional books, and online resources such as websites and journals will be shared once you begin your course.
- Access to History: The Wars of the Roses and Henry VII: Britain 1450–1509 by Roger Turvey
- Enquiring History: Tudor Rebellions 1485–1603 by Barbara Mervyn
- Spain, 1474–1700 by Colin Pendrill
- The Witchhunt in Early Modern Europe by Brian P Levack
- The First Industrial Nation: the Economic History of England 1700–1914 by Peter Mathias
- Edexcel GCE History AS Unit 2 B2 Poverty, Public Health and Growth of Government in Britain 1830–75 by Rosemary Rees
- Empire by Niall Ferguson
- Crimean War by John Sweetman
Degree progression
Many students who do History at A-level use their qualification to do a degree in History or a related subject.
A History related degree is useful for a number of careers, including teaching, librarianship, banking and commerce, the law, publishing, museums and art galleries and a wide variety of social work.
Example degree courses which require or accept History A-level include:
- Archaeology
- Architecture
- Anthropology
- Classics
- History
- History of Art
- Law
- Philosophy
- Politics
Sample alumni progression
- History/Economics/Maths
- University of Manchester (Business)
- History/Economics/Maths/Further Maths
- University of Manchester (Law)
