Entry Requirements
Successful A Level candidates will:
What does the course involve?
Unit 1: UK Politics
In this unit you will look at politics within the UK. For example, we will debate whether the UK democratic system is in indeed in crisis; the role of pressure groups such as Oxfam and Greenpeace; the different views of political parties and we will study a range of different elections and referendums including the Brexit vote in 2016.
Topics: Democracy and participation, Political parties, Electoral systems, Voting behaviour and the media
Unit 2: UK Government
In this unit you will look at the rules and laws that govern the UK (our ‘constitution’); the role and power Prime Ministers hold; the functions of parliament (the institution that votes on our laws) and how all parts of the government interact. You will explore who governs the UK and the advantages and disadvantages of the current system. This will give you knowledge for the comparisons with the USA system in year 2.
Topics: Voting behaviour and the media, the constitution, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, Parliament, Relations between the institutions
Unit 3: USA Politics
Political Ideas
In this unit you will be comparing the US system of government to the UK government. You will discover the extent to which the president only has the power to persuade; whether the US system of government makes it too difficult to effect change and pass any meaningful laws and whether the most important judges in the land (the Supreme Court justices) are really politicians in disguise.