Politics

UK Politics and Core Political Ideologies

This unit comprises the study of the main components of Politics and we study 4 main topics. Democracy and Participation, Political Parties, Electoral Systems and Voting Behaviour. Within such topics, students will assess and evaluate questions such as, “Are we facing a democratic deficit?”, “Is there a crisis in political participation?”, “Are our elections  even democratic?” and “Can we really tell how someone will vote based on where they live, what their race is, and how much money they earn?” As well as this, students will also study political philosophy dealing with thinkers such as Locke, Hobbes, Marx and Friedan as we study the ideas behind Liberalism, Socialism and Conservatism. Students will understand the key principles and beliefs of the ideologies as well as how shared their view is on the role of the state, what the economy should look like, how society should function, and what their view of human nature is.

UK Government and Non-Core Political Ideologies

This paper involves the study of the legal theory and political reality of 4 aspects of  UK governance. Students will learn about the complex and unique UK Constitution, the role and function of parliament, the powers and limits to the office of the PM and how the judiciary operates. Questions students grapple with are, “Is the PM too powerful?”, “Why is half of our parliament not even elected but make our laws?”, “Do citizens have any constitutional rights and are they safe?” and “How does the Supreme Court work?” 

In addition, much like paper 1, students study a further ideology, this time focusing on Feminism. We study key thinkers such as Wollstonecraft, De Beavoir and Millet and assess how much feminists actually agree on what they think the state and society should look like as well as the economy.  Issues such as sex and gender, the patriarchy, and whether or not feminism exists in the private life as well as the public life, are all topics students will debate and write about analytically.

US Politics and Comparisons with the UK

This paper is studied in Year 13 and combines all of the topics studied as part of the UK in paper 1 and 2, but through an American lens. Instead of parliament, students study Congress. Instead of the PM, students become knowledgeable about the President. In doing so, students learn about the inner workings of one the world’s superpowers and therefore can better understand the impact they have on an ever increasing globalised world. An aspect of this paper also involves students assessing and comparing the UK and US systems by way of similarities and differences. 

Students can expect to debate and answer questions like “Why did more people vote for Clinton, yet Trump became the President?”, “Why does congress not ban guns when school shootings continue to happen?”, “Why are some states able to make abortion illegal and others allow it?” and “Is the President actually powerful?”

The entry requirements to study Politics are not specific and are in line with general entry requirements to enter the Sixth Form.

Politics is a very versatile discipline in that it combines with virtually any other A Level subject either from the arts or humanities. Recently, many students have combined Politics with a maths/science option. They have found Politics a refreshing change, whilst appreciating the analytical challenges it presents. They’ve benefited from developing the skills which the subject necessarily demands. In recent years for example students of Politics went to highly regarded universities to study subjects ranging from Law, Journalism and Modern History to Forensic Psychology, Pharmacology and medicine and degree apprenticeships in law and logistics.

Arrangements are made for students to attend relevant History lectures and conferences where appropriate. Year 12 History and Politics students visit the Houses of Parliament and other London sites. We have also attended New York and Washington DC to visit a host of museums and historical sites as well as Berlin. We have an excellent reputation for entering students (and placing) in external writing competitions and debating competitions.