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Politics

Politics is offered at AS and A-level. It is probably the most up-to-date subject open to study as it evolves from day to day. It is also something in which we all have a chance to participate, and yet fewer of us are exercising our rights to vote each year.

Politics will be useful whatever field of study or work that the girls decide to pursue in later life as it impinges on every aspect of our day-to-day lives. The course itself allows the girls to develop analytical skills as a result of extensive document analysis and also encourages independent thought and learning. Politics cannot be learned solely from a textbook: we encourage students to read widely around the subject and make use of the internet, television and news to ensure that they are able to inform their work with up-to-date examples. We also encourage debate and discussion about topics as politics encompasses such a wide range of opinions.

We follow the AQA course and at AS we look at British politics covering:

• Elections and electoral systems

• Parties and pressure groups

• Representative institutions

At A-level we continue with our study of British politics and compare this with a study of American politics which includes a comparative study of UK/USA systems and a synoptic module.