A2 Level History

Prerequisites: AS Level History (D grade or higher).

In the final year of the History pathway, students transition from studying events to interrogating the way history is written. This course is designed to develop the evaluative skills essential for success in Law, International Relations, and the Social Sciences.

Students engage in high-level historiographical debate, evaluating how and why historians have reached different conclusions on pivotal global moments. Areas of focus may include:

• Engaging with complex questions of responsibility and causation, such as “Who was to blame for the First World War?” or “Why did the Holocaust occur?”

• Students explore a specific era in detail, such as the social and political transformation of the USA (1944–92), the complexities of International History, or the volatile Interwar Years in Europe.

A2 History students will refine the skills developed in previous years including:

• Critical Evaluation: Analysis of differing historical interpretations and the evidence that supports them

• Complex Synthesis: The ability to handle vast amounts of information and distill it into a clear, authoritative, and persuasive argument

• Intellectual Autonomy: Developing the confidence to challenge existing narratives and form independent, evidence-based conclusions