Politics
A Level (Year 12 and 13)
Student being their study of politics by exploring UK politics and core ideologies. They cover four modules to exploring UK Politics. Firstly they develop their understanding of democracy & participation which explores different forms of democracy and the various ways UK citizens participate in UK Politics. This allows them to move on to study UK Political Parties where they explore their main policies are and how these have changed over the last 50 years. Students then learn about the various electoral systems used in UK elections and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Finally students study the various factors that influence how people vote in the UK. Students also take an in depth look at the 'core ideologies' of Liberalism Conservatism and Socialism.
The work they do in Year 12 in preparation for 'Paper 1' allows students to then explore UK Government in more detail. Firstly they study the UK Constitution, which looks at how the UK Political System has evolved over time. Secondly. students study the powers of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Thirdly, students study Parliament and how laws are passed and fourthly they explore the relationships between the various UK institutions. In addition for this paper, students study Feminism as their 'Non-Core Ideology'. As part of The HHEx, we organise a trip to Parliament to enhance these studies. This detail is known as 'Paper 2'.
Once they have a detailed understanding of UK politics, students compare against the political system in the USA. Students are examined on this in 'Paper 3'. For this paper, students study the same topics as they have studied for British Politics, with the focus being on exploring American Politics and comparing all elements studied with UK Politics. In terms of US Politics, students would explore US Political Parties, Elections, Pressure Groups & Civil Rights, comparing these elements with elements of UK Politics they have studied previously. In terms of US Government, students would explore the US Constitution, Presidency, Congress & Supreme Court and compare them with similar elements of UK Politics.
