Lower College History
The Third Form and those who have opted for History in the Fourth Form will be studying for the Edexcel IGCSE. This is a flexible and challenging course, which teaches students the skills of source analysis, interpretation, argument and judgement that are required and used as daily working practice by historians. Beginning in the Third Form, students build and consolidate the skills and techniques necessary for achieving the highest grades at IGCSE, leading to our current tally, in the first year of sitting the exam, of 61.2% A*-A grades.

The course follows international affairs in the Modern World. As part of their foundation course, the Third Form complete depth studies on World Wars One and Two, to give them an underlying understanding of these pivotal hubs around which the IGCSE later revolves. The Fourth Form study Germany from 1918 to 1945 and America between the wars, before going on to trace the shifting fortunes of both countries and the rise of the USSR through the early years of the Cold War, 1945-62. Britain’s evolving position within this context is stressed and such interplay continues with the Fifth Form’s examination of change over time in the Middle East, 1917-1973. The students enjoy expanding their studies from a European to a more global perspective, and the relevance of these topics to comprehending and interpreting events in our present day world is easily established. For more specific details, please refer to the GCSE options booklet, or to the website link below.

IGCSE website

Upper College History
The A Level course follows the AQA specification. Once again, we try to offer as much choice as possible, with various option blocks available that cover History as far back as 1603 and as recent as 2004. Current courses all provide a blend of British and International history. British papers range from the Stuarts and the 17th Century, through to the Victorians and ending in the first part of the 20th Century. Other papers cover anti-Semitism, Russia from the Tsars to the Soviet period, as well as French Revolutions and the Cold War and subsequent international relations. The quality of teaching means that, whatever a student studies, they are promised fast-flowing and interesting courses. Again, for more specific details, please refer to the A Level options booklet, or to the website link below.

AQA A level site