History - GCSE

Exam Body

AQA

Head of Department

Sian Mulvihill

smulvihill@stdavidscollege.co.uk

History isn’t a subject that is stuck in the past. Far from it!

Historical events have shaped who we are today, and this is true across the world. Did you know that Magna Carta, a document signed in 1215, is the basis of the US constitution?

History is so much more than just memorising dates, places, and important figures. Discovering who, what, when, and where are just the tip of the iceberg. Studying History at St David's College pushes students to ask how and why. Analysing the smaller events that contributed to key events in history to see how they lead to it and interpreting sources to show why they are important.

GCSE Assessment

Paper 1:

America 1840-1895: Expansion and consolidation Pupils will study the development of America during a turbulent half-century of change. It was a period of expansion in the West and consolidation of the United States as a nation. The course will cover the political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of these developments and the role ideas played in bringing about change. They will also look at key individuals and groups in shaping change and the impact developments had on them.

Conflict and tension 1894-1918

This wider world depth study enables pupils to understand the complex and diverse interests of the Great Powers and other states. It focuses on the causes, nature, and conclusion of the First World War. Pupils will study how and why conflict occurred, and why it proved difficult to bring the war to a conclusion. Pupils will study the role of key individuals and groups in shaping change and how they were affected by and influenced international relations.

Paper 2:

Britain: Health and the people: c1000 to the present day

This thematic study will enable pupils to gain an understanding of how medicine and public health developed in Britain over a long period of time. It considers the causes, scale, nature and consequences of short and long-term developments, their impact on British society, and how they were related to the key features and characteristics of the periods during which they took place. Although the focus of this study is the development of medicine and public health in Britain, it will draw on wider world developments that impacted the core themes. Pupils will have the opportunity to see how some ideas and events in the wider world affected Britain and will promote the idea that key themes did not develop in isolation, but these ideas and events should be referenced in terms of their effects on the core theme for Britain and British people.

Elizabethan England, c1568-1603

This option allows pupils to study a specified period, the last 35 years of Elizabeth I’s reign. The study will focus on major events of Elizabeth I’s reign considered from economic, religious, political, social, and cultural standpoints, and arising contemporary and historical controversies. The historic environment of Elizabethan England historic environment is 10% of the overall course, which equates to approximately 12 hours out of 120 guided learning hours. Pupils will be examined on a specific site in depth. This site will be as specified and will be changed annually. The site will relate to the content of the rest of this depth study. It is intended that study of different historic environments will enrich pupils’ understanding of Elizabethan England.