AS Level HISTORY (Edexcel) Courses

1 and 2 year courses

AS Course Outline

History is a universally recognised academic arena of wide ranging topics and copious knowledge. It also helps students develop a broad range of skills useful for a wide variety of careers. At AS level, students are required to:

  • Develop the ability to scrutinise and evaluate evidence;
  • To learn to prioritise the relative importance of events and influences;
  • To develop sustained critical arguments that utilises knowledge and language;
  • To nurture an awareness of cause and effect;
  • To gain a sense of oneself in the timeline of progress in human development.

It also encourages students to make judgements based upon ethical perspectives and to develop skills in reasoning in order, for example, to discern fact from propaganda. However, alongside its broad academic attributes, it is a subject to be enjoyed as it provides a fascinating narrative and an archive of knowledge and human experiences.

Albemarle offers a modern historical syllabus to present students with controversies and developments to which they can relate and even draw analogies with their contemporary society. History provides an excellent compliment to many other subject areas, especially within the humanities and social science field. For example, along with developing skills and knowledge essential for history, students will also gain an insight into politics, foreign relations, economics and major social issues.

Requirements for Students
Students will study history for six lessons a week and will begin with Unit 2 (Britain 1945-90) in the first term in preparation for an exam in January. Students are expected to attend every class. This is essential if students are to achieve excellence.

Lessons will use a variety of methods, the most dominant of which will be discussion of the subject content. There will be many assignments which must be completed by set deadlines. There will also be many opportunities to develop examination skills and techniques with frequent mock exams. There will be substantial materials provided for students throughout the course by their teacher.


HISTORY (Edexcel Board) AS Specification

Unit One
Written examination involving two essay questions
(1 hour 20 minutes)

Equality in the USA, 1945-68 The USA in Asia, 1950-73

Students will be required to write two essays on modern American history. Race is an issue which resonates throughout almost all modern societies but has caused particular social conflict in the USA. Students will study the Non-violent campaigns to end segregation, such as those led by Martin Luther King, as well as the influence of 'Black Power' and how the Federal government responded to the pressure for equality. The second essay will cover how the United States came to develop a proactive and interventionist foreign policy (in this case, against communism in Asia during the 'Cold War' period) and why its decision to do so always creates controversy and does not always achieve the desired outcome.

Unit Two
Written examination involving two essays responding to several historical sources (1 hour 20 minutes)

British Political History, 1945-90

Students will be required to complete a twopart question which requires them to analyse sources of evidence which discuss a selection of major issues that arose in post war Britain. The issue of the extent of Britain's relative 'decline' after the Second World War and whether it was inevitable or desired is hotly debated. The subject mainly concerns domestic issues such as the creation of the Welfare State, problems with the British economy, industrial relations, its relations with various institutions such as the developing European Union, as well as its struggle to modernise and reform. All of the major governments from Clement Attlee's to Margaret Thatcher's will be examined in detail.

Recommended textbooks
For American Civil Rights (1945-68)

  • Civil Rights in the USA, 1863-1980 by David Paterson, Doug and Susan Willoughby (Heinemann Advanced History) - this is a well structured and accessible source, particularly useful for those without any prior knowledge or lacking confidence. A strongly recommended text.
  • Race Relations in the USA since 1900 by Vivienne Saunders (Hodder & Stoughton, Access to History) - this is more in depth and detailed but not as comprehensive as the above. It is very strong on analysis.
  • Civil Rights in America 1865-1980 by Ron Field (Cambridge Perspective in History) has some excellent analysis but is not comprehensive in content.

For America in Asia (1945-73)

  • The USA and Vietnam 1945-75 by Vivienne Saunders (Hodder & Stoughton, Access to History) is an engaging read and excellent for the Vietnam War, however it does not cover the Korean War.
  • Vietnam, Korea and US Foreign Policy 1945-75 by Christine Bragg (Heinemann Advanced History) is a very in-depth and quite challenging text covering all major topics but is not as accessible as the above.

For British Political History (1945-90)

  • Britain: Domestic Politics, 1939-45 by Paul Adelman (Hodder & Stoughton, Access to History) is a very good text covering the first half of the course content.
  • Britain 1929-98 by Chris Rowe (Heinemann Advanced History) is a good introduction but lacks depth and detail.
  • An Introduction to Modern British History 1900-99 by Michael Lynch (Hodder & Stoughton, Access to History Context) is a concise overview of the whole period and more.

Fees and Dates