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Politics

What Will I Study?

UK Politics

This unit has two elements. Section A: Political Participation which will examine democracy and participation; political parties; electoral systems; voting behaviour and the media and Section B: Core Political Ideas of conservatism, liberalism and socialism.

UK Government

This unit has two elements. Section A: UK Government which will examine the UK Constitution; Parliament; the Prime Minister and Executive including case studies of 2 administrations ( one pre 1997 and one post 1997) and Section B: Non-core Political Ideas, where one of the following will be studied: anarchism; ecologism, feminism; multiculturalism; nationalism.

Comparative Politics

This unit will study The US Constitution and federalism; US Congress; US Presidency; US Supreme Court and civil rights; democracy and participation and compare the US systems with that of the United Kingdom.

How Will I be Assessed?

All papers will require balanced knowledgeable debate using critical thinking skills of analysis and evaluation.

UK Politics – 33% of the qualification. Written examination 2 hours consisting of 1 source based essay and 2 essays.

UK Government – 33% of the qualification. Written examination 2 hours consisting of 1 source based essay and 2 essays.

Comparative Politics, USA – 33% of the qualification. Written examination 2 hours consisting of 2 short questions comparing UK with the US political systems and 2 essays comparing role of different US political structures.

Minimum Entry Requirements

Maths and English Grade 5 or History and English Grade 5

Progression Pathways

Politics A Level can lead to a variety of careers such as:

  • Law
  • Political Research/Analyst
  • Management
  • Accountancy
  • Education