History A Level

We follow the Edexcel specification.

Year One

Unit 1: Britain Transformed, 1918-97

This unit examines a variety of aspects of life in Britain during this period:

• The key political and economic changes; the development of work and industry
• The creation of the welfare state and the NHS; the development of education
• Key social changes, including class relations; women’s rights; the ‘liberal society’ of the 1960s; immigration and race relations
• The changing quality of life, including the impact of war; the growth of consumerism; leisure and travel; popular culture, including cinema, radio, television and youth culture.

This unit is worth 30% of the A Level.

Unit 2: The USA, c.1920-55 – Boom, Bust and Recovery

This unit is focused on the social and economic developments in the USA during this period, including:

• The boom of the 1920s and the Great Depression
• The impact of the Second World War on US society
• Race relations and the civil rights movement
• The emergence of popular culture, including radio, cinema and television.

This unit is worth 20% of the A Level.

Year Two

Unit 3: The Witch Craze in Europe and North America, c.1580-1750

In this unit you will learn about the emergence of the obsession with witches and witchcraft in Europe and North America in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This unit is particularly concerned with the tension between traditional beliefs and the emerging ideas of the so-called Age of Reason. You will look at a number of case studies to develop your understanding of this topic:

• The North Berwick Witches, 1590-91
• The Lancashire Witches, 1604-13
• The Great Witch Hunt in Bamburg, Germany, 1623-32
• Matthew Hopkins and the East Anglian witch craze, 1645-47
• The Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts, 1692-93

This unit is worth 30% of the A Level

Unit 4: The Origins of the First World War, c.1870-1914 (Coursework)

This unit is concerned with the different events, personalities and issues which contributed towards the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. In addition to events of the period, you will also focus on understanding how historians research their topics and about the nature of historical debate. You will then complete a coursework assignment based on your own research.

This unit is worth 20% of the A Level.