Politics A Level

Before submitting your application to Wyke Sixth Form College, please ensure that you have added

1. Personal Details (including Home Address, Email Address and Contact Number)
2. A full list of all of your predicted grades

Without this information we will be unable to process your application and will refer this back to you until it is fully complete.

If you have a particular interest in current affairs, and a willingness to read newspaper articles, watch and listen to news and political programmes on all platforms of media and social media, A Level Politics may be a great course choice for you.

You do not have to be a political expert in order to study the subject and you do not need to have taken the subject at GCSE – a curiosity to find out more is often a good starting point if you are considering Politics as an option. This subject involves a lot of reading and written work. Most of the marks in the A Level examinations are awarded for questions that require long written answers.

There are four 70 minute sessions per week for each lesson of Politics. You will be involved in a variety of activities within each lesson including written work and debate.

PAPER 1 – UK GOVERNMENT

In the first section of this module, you will examine how Britain is governed, including the role of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the functions of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

You will also look at the role of individual MPs and evaluate their powers and responsibilities. In addition, the course examines the nature and reform of the UK constitution, the role of the judiciary in the UK political system and devolution.

Also as part of Paper 1, you will study three core political ideologies – those of Liberalism, Conservatism and Socialism. You will learn why these ideologies developed, what their main values and beliefs are and how they have impacted political parties and the countries in which they have been applied. This aspect of the module comprises 8% weighting overall

PAPER 2 – UK POLITICS

In the second paper of this A Level, you will examine the reasons why and how people participate in politics, and why others do not. You will closely analyse the many varied forms of political participation that are available to UK citizens.

You will also look at the different electoral systems in the UK and the ideologies, views and functions of political parties will be examined. You will then consider the activities and impact of pressure groups, and conclude with a study of the European Union.

In addition to the three core ideologies, you will study an optional ideology, Nationalism as our chosen ideology. This is an aspect of Paper 2 (with an 8% weighting).

PAPER 3 – COMPARATIVE POLITICS: USA

Section one covering the US government examines the working and amendment of the United States constitution. It also assesses and analyses the three branches of government, namely the Presidency (Executive branch), Congress (Legislative branch) and the Supreme Court (Judicial branch).

Section two covering US politics considers the electoral process and direct democracy. There is also an analysis of US voting behaviour. This module examines ideology and the political party system in the USA before moving on to the activities and significance of pressure groups with specific reference to the democratic process. This section concludes with an examination of Civil Rights in the USA.

Section three deals with comparative politics, where you will use what you have learned about the government and politics of the UK and the USA to draw comparisons and contrasts between the two systems. This aspect of A Level Politics has a 33% weighting overall.

100% Examination

Information on course specific and pathway specific entry criteria can be found on our website.

Many students who have taken the A Level in Politics often become so enthusiastic about the subject that they go on to study Politics at university. In this respect the subject is one of the many humanity/social science subjects that enable students to progress to careers in the civil service, business and finance, the legal profession, public sector professions and journalism and the media more generally. Some former politics students have become researchers or joined local or national government. At least two former Wyke politics students have go on to become MPs, but none have become Prime Minister (so far).