Subject specific entry requirements: Grade 6/B in GCSE English.

How the course is assessed: 100% examination.

Exam board: AQA.

Where does it lead?

Politics fits very well with subjects like PPE, Economics, History, Law, Psychology and Sociology.  Many students go on to read Politics at university and it is excellent preparation for a multitude of careers, including in the civil service and public sector, business and management, the media, and the voluntary and community sector.

Course overview

The two-year A level course consists of three units:

Government and Politics of the UK: our different elections and electoral systems; referendums; political parties and pressure groups; our constitution and judiciary ; the role of parliament ; how our prime ministerial and cabinet system operate ; and finally, local and devolved government and the main institutions of the European Union.

Government and Politics of the US and comparative politics: in which students cover US presidential and congressional elections, the US Constitution and role of the Supreme Court; Congress; and the Presidency. We then compare and contrast the main features of British and American government and politics.

Political Ideas: in which students look at the main ideas of socialism, conservatism, liberalism and one other from a list that includes feminism and anarchism.

You can expect to:

Be aware of the main political stories on a daily and weekly basis.

Participate in a lot of debate and discussion.

Develop a good understanding of British and American politics and political ideologies.

Other useful information

Each year we organise a trip to a student conference in Westminster for Year 12s and this year we also visited Parliament and met with the MP for Rugby.

A student view from our current cohort:

“I began studying politics with little prior interest and experience but the study of the subject will change your perspective forever. You will always balance two sides to an argument and consider the basis for how society is interwoven with what you study. It is truly incredible how overlooked something so important and fundamental is to every single one of us and I cannot recommend this subject enough as it is so applicable to everything we do.”

Please click here for the Sixth Form Prospectus