Politics

Politics helps students  to know their  rights. The course allows students  to see beyond an  initial belief that we have no real say in the running of our country. It  educates students  about  a fundamental part of our society and  helps them to understand that if we engage in political processes, then every individual really does have the opportunity to change the world. The global dimension of the A level course helps students understand the wide context of their actions. Politics prepares students for adult life. The world of British politics really opens up to teenagers after our eighteenth birthdays, with the vote giving us the ability to change our nation and allow the principles we hold dear to thrive. With this in mind, it could easily be said that  Government and Politics is a very important  subject on offer, and is a subject that people should be encouraged to take due the way it prepares them for entering the adult world.

Politics clarifies what you yourself believe. Studying the course  gives students  the opportunity to discover their own political beliefs and to see in much greater detail the benefits and disadvantages of the vast array of political ideologies that are present in the world today. Being able to express what you believe accurately and concisely is extremely useful, and forces you to really look at yourself!. Politics is a living, breathing subject. In Politics, textbooks go out of date the day they are published. Why? Because the political landscape changes every day, with new examples appearing constantly in the media. Picking which examples to use in your answers to essay questions is really exciting as something that has happened on the day you are taking your A Level exams can appear in your response!

Politics helps students to understand our nation's parties. After just one term of the subject students  will have have learnt about democracy and our rights, ideologies and party policies, the Constitution and Parliament. With the knowledge gained from the classroom, they will  be able to watch events unfold worldwide, see their leaders' reactions to these events and have come to understand these reactions as demonstrations of what we have learned.

In KS5 students In Paper 1  students study UK Politics. This involves investigating democracy and participation as well as political parties in the UK. They investigate the different electoral system operating in the UK and consider the advantages and disadvantages of the First Past the POst and proportional representation systems. As part of the attempt to understand the political process students study the role of pressure groups and the operation of referendums and opinion polls. They consider change and continuity in voting behaviour and the role of the media.Students also study Conservative, Socialist and Liberalism ideologies.

In Paper 2 students focus on UK Government. They analyse the way in which this country is governed, with particular reference to the workings of the UK constitution and the arguments for and against its codification. They consider the role of parliament in our system and  focus on the role of members of the Commons and Lords. They investigate the part played by the Prime Minister and Cabinet and assess relations between branches of government - the judiciary (particularly the Supreme Court), the legislature (parliament) and the executive (government). Students also study Feminist  ideology.

In Paper 3 students study global politics. They place their investigations within the context of rival  realist and liberal ideologies and investigate the role of the state and globalisation. There is a focus on the challenges posed to global governmental institutions which deal with political, economic, human rights and environmental issues. They consider the nature of soft and hard power and evaluate the role of regional organisations in meeting the challenges and opportunities provided in an ever changing global system.

Hours of lessons per fortnight for this subject:

- KS5:7

Ed Excel Politics A Level

Fully equipped classrooms with resource library and fully stocked revision materials

The department runs trips to the Westminster parliament and Supreme Court. At election time we also organise hustings in which local constituency candidates of the major political parties have to answer questions on local and national issues put by representatives of different tutor groups.

We also run a student election in which students representing different political parties organise campaigns and make speeches to year assemblies. We then run an academy election on the day of the UK general election. Students vote electronically and follow the changing fortunes of the different parties on the big screen in the atrium!