History at A-Level

What's it like? I didn't do it for GCSE, this was because before we picked our options we were learning about the tudors and the like, which didn't really interest me. However at GCSE, all the 'modern' history seems really interesting, so how is it at A-Level? What are people learning?

Also will I have a problem with it by not studying it at GCSE?
Cheers

edit: the title should of been History at AS level!

Reply 1

The Solitary Reaper

At AS we did :

The Rise of Fascism in Italy
The Emancipation of Women
The Rise of the Nazis

At A2, we get to do either exam option:

Mussolini (again)
The State and the Poor
Stalin

or coursework:

Ireland 1801-1921
Individual assignment, any topic you like
Stalin exam (same as above)

It's good; if you can learn the method of establishing the links they want you to find, for example, in our Nazis exam, the question was something like:

Hitler's ascension to power in 1933 was the result of the backing of powerful right wing establishment figures.

Now, we had three sources - one which basically supported this view, one which supported the view that it was the favour and support of the German people, and one which showed some statistics about how the support of the people had earned Hitler certain advantages.

The connection they obviously were looking for was that without the support of the people, Hitler never would have gained the support of the right wing establishment to begin with, and thus, although it was the establishment that provided the final 'push', it was popular support that got him there in the first place.

Sorry about this mini essay! But that's basically how it works.

GCSE history was nothing like this anyway, that shouldn't be a problem.

Reply 2

*Miss-Brightside*

It depends on what exam board you do, and then it depends on what modules your school picks for your course.

For us, we do AQA and it's actually quite interesting. We do all the modern world stuff...

AS:

Britain 1929 - 1951
Emergence of New World Order and the Superpowers 1900 - 1962
Decolonisation of Kenya (Coursework)
Winston Churchill (Coursework)

A2:

Britain 1951-1997
The USSR 1881 - 1985
The United Nations 1945-1989

I loved the AS units, they were really good study topics.

Having said all of this, all the exam specifications etc will change next year so you will follow a format that is quite different to what we have to do.

Reply 3

beesbees

The choice of exam board and, indeed, the courses on offer from each exam board vary a lot. Not having History GCSE shouldn't pose a problem, all you need to know is taught anyway, and doing it at GCSE level can actually in some cases be a hinderence as the skills and questions are quite different.

Of course, all A-Level syllabuses are changing from this September and the history course is changing quite a lot I've heard. I am taking AS history this year on Edexcel, and this year we are doing: This rise of the Nazis up to 1933, Life in Nazi Germany 1933-39 and the Russia, 1918-29.

Reply 4

Happy1

I loved A level history...

Ok i did it a couple of years ago now, but i did:

AS
Henry VIII and Wolsey
Spain in the reigns of Isabella and Ferdinand
The mid-Tudor Crisis

A2
Mussolini's Italy and The Rise of Fascism
Nazi Germany 1933-45
Ireland coursework

Reply 5

Jackathon

A-level history is pretty good, you wont be too disadvantaged at GCSE. Its a completely different style of questions so that's fine, the only thing that will be missing is the knowledge. Assuming some of your topics cross over, that is. I did:

AS : Weimar Germany, Nazi Germany and Britain 1895 - 1916 or something.
A2: Poor Law to Welfare state (themes in History) and Elizabeth I (individual) and then we do our coursework as well.

Its fascinating. Be careful though, if you don't like the Tudors etc, I know alot of schools do atleast 1 module on or around them. (I can't comprehend why anyone wouldn't LOVE the Tudors, but there we go!)

Reply 6

icedsarcasm

I'd talk to the teachers - even within exam boards there's (quite literally) centuries of difference between the options you'll do.

I'm doing OCR (AS at the moment, planning on A2), and we do The Rise of the Labour Party (x 2 exams) and Spain under Philip II for AS, and Philip II again with the History of Modern Warfare and a coursework investigation of our choice for A2.

Reply 7

Becca-Bee

I'm doing AS at the moment, we're doing Russia in Revolution 1905 and 1917 and the Unification of Italy and Causes of the First World War for coursework on Edexcel =]
Love it love it love =]

Reply 8

02mik_e

yh you should be fine, once you master the exam technique. You don't need to have done it at GCSE, because at GCSE it's all about writing down facts, but A-Level is all about explanation. I am with OCR

AS Level:
Charles I Personal Rule & Civil War
Origins of the French Revolution (forgot the date 1781-1795 i think...)
Napoleon & Europe.

Trust me it's fun, i would advise taking it.

All the Best
Michael :smile: