Course Guide

In Year 12 you will study the bloodiest of the English civil wars; the Wars of the Roses. The unit begins in 1450 with Cade’s Rebellion and ends with Henry VII’s death in 1509. Also in Year 12 you will study the French Revolution and the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. In Year 13 the course focuses on Russian history. Like the French revolutionaries before them, Russia’s communists were idealists who intended to build a better society but their radicalism led to violence and repression on an enormous scale. You will study the last three tsars and the first three communist rulers, starting in 1855 and ending in 1964. Also in Year 13 there is a coursework unit which involves writing a 4,000 word essay on a topic of your choice.

There are three exams and a coursework essay. The weighting of the units are as follows: Wars of the Roses (25%), French Revolution & Napoleon (15%), Russia and its Rulers (40%) and coursework (20%). The coursework is submitted before Easter in Year 13 and all exams are taken at the end of Year 13.

In the Autumn we run a one day trip to Leicester to visit the Richard III museum; his tomb in Leicester Cathedral and the Bosworth battlefield. We have also run a multi-day trip to Paris to visit sites associated with the French Revolution and Napoleon. A Sixth Form History Society is run by the History Prefects on a weekly basis. We support entry into university essay competitions at the end of Year 12 for those wishing to study History at university and we run Oxbridge preparation sessions in the Summer and Autumn

Firstly, History provides you with contextual knowledge of past and thus a greater awareness of how the present has come to be as well as an awareness of the diversity of human society. Secondly, it also equips you with the ability to evaluate information critically and communicate arguments effectively. Therefore History prepares you for a career in law, policing, journalism, accountancy, the civil service and teaching to name but a few paths open to you as a historian.