Politics

Entry Requirements

Successful A Level candidates will:

• Have at least a grade 5 in English, Maths and a Humanities subject at GCSE level

(Grade 6 or higher is desirable).

• Be interested in and have an engagement with contemporary politics.

• Be committed and enthusiastic to undertaking independent study.

What does the course involve?

 Unit 1: UK Politics

• In this unit you will look at politics within the UK. For example, we will debate whether the

UK democratic system is in indeed in crisis; the role of pressure groups such as Oxfam

and Greenpeace; the different views of political parties and we will study a range of

different elections and referendums including the Brexit vote in 2016.

• Topics: Democracy and participation, Political parties, Electoral systems, Voting

behaviour and the media

Unit 2: UK Government

• In this unit you will look at the rules and laws that govern the UK (our ‘constitution’); the

role and power Prime Ministers hold; the functions of parliament (the institution that

votes on our laws) and how all parts of the government interact. You will explore who

governs the UK and the advantages and disadvantages of the current system. This will

give you knowledge for the comparisons with the USA system in year 2.

• Topics: Voting behaviour and the media, the constitution, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, Parliament, Relations between the institutions

Year 2

Unit 3: USA Politics

• Political Ideas
• In this unit you will be comparing the US system of government to the UK government.

You will discover the extent to which the president only has the power to persuade;

whether the US system of government makes it too difficult to effect change and pass

any meaningful laws and whether the most important judges in the land (the Supreme

Court justices) are really politicians in disguise.