Politics
Our aim is to develop knowledgeable, informed and aware students of Politics who will leave the course with a depth of knowledge and love of the subject that will remain with them into the future.
We ensure this through an ambitions and rich Politics curriculum, which will immerse students in the subject and ensure that they finish the course with an excellent understanding of political processes and institutions both in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In addition, students will study the foundational political philosophies that are the basis for differences between political parties and how they believe society should be run.
The study of Politics leads an enquiring and critical outlook on the world that can also be applied in other subjects and in their future endeavours. These skills are honed and developed progressively through the curriculum to assist Politics students to become confident in communicating their views, both in writing and orally. The curriculum is structured to take pupils through a detailed study of the core political institutions, processes and philosophies that are central to politics in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. This will ensure students access and apply high level vocabulary with increasing rigour over their time in the Politics classrooms.
Course Details
A Level Politics – Edexcel Specification
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-a-levels/politics-2017.html
Course Description
The subjects chosen have been designed to give a breadth of knowledge across a range of institutions and philosophies, to develop the necessary skills and understanding which will be needed by students planning to progress to undergraduate study at a UK higher education establishment, particularly (although not only) in the same subject area.
Programme of Study
Year 12
· Paper 1: UK Politics
· UK Politics: Democracy and Participation, Political Parties, Electoral Systems, Voting Behaviour and the Media.
· Core political beliefs: Conservatism, Liberalism, Socialism.
· Paper 2: UK Government.
· UK Government: The Constitution, Parliament, Prime Minister and executive.
· Non-core political ideas: Anarchism.
Year 13
· Paper 3: Comparative Politics
· Comparative Politics: the US Constitution and Federalism, US Congress, US Presidency, US Supreme Court and Civil Rights, Democracy and Participation, Comparative Study (comparisons between the UK and US political systems).
Assessment
All three papers will be sat at the end of the two-year course. In addition to class assessment there will be one threshold exam at the end of Year 12, and mock exams in the January of Year 13. In class assessment will occur throughout the year.
The examination structure is as follows:
Paper 1 – UK Politics
Written examination: 2 hours 33⅓% of the qualification 84 marks
Section A: Political Participation – One 30-mark question from a choice of two (each question uses a source) – students must complete one of these. Plus one 30-mark question from a choice of two – students must complete one of these.
Section B: Core Political Ideas – One 24-mark question from a choice of two.
Paper 2 – UK Government
Written examination: 2 hours 33⅓% of the qualification 84 marks
Section A: UK Government – One 30-mark question from a choice of two (each question uses a source) – students must complete one of these. Plus one 30-mark question from a choice of two – students must complete one of these.
Section B: Non-core Political Ideas – One 24-mark question from a choice of two.
Paper 3 – Comparative Politics
Written examination: 2 hours 33⅓% of the qualification 84 marks
Section A: One 12-mark question from a choice of two.
Section B: One compulsory 12-mark question focused on the comparative study of the UK and USA.
Section C: Two 30-mark questions from a choice of three.
Home Learning
Home learning will take the form of preparation for or review of work in class. This will consist of either reading or written work (research work or practice of and preparation for exam questions).
Students are expected to pay close attention to current affairs and this is essential for the development of an in depth understanding of the subject. The textbook is a starting point, but students are expected to read around the subject and pay close attention to the media (television, radio, internet based media and newspaper) in order to develop their broader understanding of contemporary politics.
Where can Politics take you?
The skills and knowledge acquired through the study of Politics, are invaluable for an array of career paths. Those listed below show just a few which have a direct and indirect relationship to the subject.
Further Study
Degrees in:
· Politics
· International relations
· Business and Economics
· Law
· History
· Journalism
· Criminology
· Social work
· Psychology
· Sociology
Careers
Careers that are related directly to the study of politics:
· Law
· Civil Service
· Journalism
· Public Relations
· Working on policy research and for think tanks
· Local government
· Working as part of a politician’s team or for a political party
· Politician
· Teaching
· Television and radio broadcasting
How can parents support their child’s learning
Parents can discuss with the students how they plan to manage their time for the home learning tasks and revision for assessments.
Encouraging students to embrace wider reading and further research is extremely important. Students should be taking political knowledge from a broad range of sources – television, radio, internet based media and newspapers.
Visiting political sites, such as the Houses of Parliament, and encouraging discussion about the topics studied in class is also useful.
Useful Links
· BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
· USA Today https://eu.usatoday.com/news/politics/
· Politics Home https://www.politicshome.com/
· Politico https://www.politico.com/
For more information contact Mr S Bremner, Head of Social Science, Townsend Church of England School.
