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Opportunity to visit Washington DC
Opportunity to visit Washington DC
Opportunity to visit Washington DC
A Level Politics requires you to achieve at least theminimum entry requirements for your chosen pathway plus a grade 5 or higher in GCSE English Language and a grade 5 or higher in English Literature or a humanities subject, e.g. Geography, Politics, History, Law or Religious Studies. The minimum entry requirements will be discussed at open events and at your college interview.
If you have a particular interest in current affairs, and a willingness to read newspaper articles, watch and listen to news and political programmes on all platforms of media and social media, A Level Politics may be a great course choice for you.
You do not have to be a political expert in order to study the subject and you do not need to have taken the subject at GCSE – a curiosity to find out more is often a good starting point if you are considering Politics as an option. This subject involves a lot of reading and written work. Most of the marks in the A Level examinations are awarded for questions that require long written answers.
A-Level Government and Politics is a dynamic and intellectually stimulating course that invites you to explore the systems, ideas, and institutions that shape our world.
Paper 1 - you’ll delve into the ways people participate in UK politics, examining electoral systems, political parties, pressure groups, and the potential of direct democracy. You’ll also study the core ideologies of Liberalism, Conservatism, and Socialism, gaining insight into their origins, values, and influence.
Paper 2 - focuses on how Britain is governed, covering the roles of the Prime Minister, Parliament, and judiciary, alongside constitutional reform and devolution. You’ll also explore Nationalism as a non-core ideology, tracing its evolution and impact.
Paper 3 - you’ll turn your attention to the USA, analysing its constitution, government branches, electoral processes, political parties, and civil rights movements. The final section allows you to compare and contrast the UK and US political systems, sharpening your analytical skills. Each paper contributes equally to your final grade. This course is perfect for students who are curious about the world, passionate about justice, and eager to make a difference. If you want to understand how power works and be part of shaping the future, this is where your journey begins.
You could have a look in some newspapers and follow some political stories and see how they develop over a week or so. Tune in to news programmes such as Channel 4 News or Newsnight on BBC2. Both these programmes have excellent coverage of current affairs. The college has a number of open events where you can come along and find out more about the subject. Before you come to an open evening, think about the questions you want to ask and write them down just in case you forget them. You can also visit the Edexcel website as this the exam board that Wyke uses for teaching Politics. You can follow the links, and find much useful information about the subject, including a student guide as well as a copy of the course details and past examination question papers and mark schemes.
Wyke Sixth Form College hold train to teach information events which offer you a great insight into this course. If you are interested in attending one of these events, please complete this form and we will be in contact with the key information.
Please note that the applications for this course can be submitted by following the ‘Apply Now’ button on this page. Applications are made through the University of Huddersfield rather than Wyke Sixth Form College. We look forward to meeting with you.
Wyke Sixth Form College hold train to teach information events which offer you a great insight into this course. If you are interested in attending one of these events, please complete this form and we will be in contact with the key information.
Many students who have taken the A Level in Politics often become so enthusiastic about the subject that they go on to study Politics at university. In this respect the subject is one of the many humanity/social science subjects that enable students to progress to careers in the civil service, business and finance, the legal profession, public sector professions and journalism and the media more generally. Some former politics students have become researchers or joined local or national government. At least two former Wyke politics students have go on to become MPs, but none have become Prime Minister (so far).
At Wyke Start, our 2-day taster event in July, each of your subjects will set you some work to complete to help prepare you for the course. The work is available to download on https://www.wyke.ac.uk/wyke-start-summer-work
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To enhance your understanding of UK Politics, you may have the benefit of visiting speakers, such as the local MP, a member of the House of Lords, or a lobbyist. In addition, Politics students have the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. to support their studies of United States Government & Politics. This trip first ran in March 2014 and has ran annually since then.
Politics students can also participate in our annual trip to Westminster, in which we visit the Houses of Parliament, and the UK Supreme Court, among the other many sights of London.
