Politics
Curriculum Content Overview
Politics is the study of power: who has it, how it is used, and how it shapes the lives of every person in the country. From the corridors of Westminster to the Oval Office, from the suffragettes to the Supreme Court, A-Level Politics gives students the tools to understand the forces driving the headlines and the decisions that define our age.
Over two years, students follow the Pearson Edexcel specification across three components. In Year 12, you will examine UK Politics - democracy and participation, elections, political parties, voting behaviour and the media - alongside the core political ideas of liberalism, conservatism and socialism, together with nationalism as a further ideological tradition. Year 12 also introduces UK Government, exploring the constitution, Parliament, the Prime Minister and executive, and the relationships between the branches of state. Year 13 broadens horizons through Government and Politics of the USA, comparing the American system with our own on questions of constitutions, legislatures, presidencies, courts, civil rights, parties and pressure groups.
The skills developed are genuinely transferable. Students learn to construct evidence-based arguments, evaluate competing viewpoints, analyse complex source material, and write with clarity under pressure. You will sharpen your ability to think critically about claims made by politicians, journalists and campaigners, and to defend your own conclusions with confidence - abilities valued in law, journalism, business, the civil service, international relations and almost any career that involves persuading others.
Most of all, Politics is endlessly interesting because it never stops moving. Each week brings new elections, court rulings, leadership contests and protests that test the ideas studied in class against the real world. Students leave the course as more informed citizens, more confident communicators, and better equipped to engage with the country and the world they are about to help shape.
