| 6th | 7th | |
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| Higher |  |
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| AS Level | |
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| A Level | |
A-Level History has proven practical benefits as a preparation for university work in History, Law, Politics, Economics, Philosophy, Literature or any of the Social Sciences. It also forms a useful background to modern languages. It develops the ability to handle factual material in ever-increasing quantity and sophistication, the ability to read critically and effectively and the ability to present, in a fluent essay, a logical argument supported by perceptive reasoning and detailed evidence. It also has a wider educational value, providing as it does a daily sense of chronology and historical perspective, a broadening of experiences and interests, and a daily invitation to think critically about opinions, interpretations and evidence.
The Course
History A-Level is a two-year course made up of four Units that develop and test a wide variety of skills. There is a wide range of choice available within each Unit, and we have been able to use this to our advantage:
1. Our A-Level course will dove-tail neatly with Higher.
2. Our pupils will have a thorough and exciting course in highly signifi cant history, with a deliberate variety of periods and themes.
Entry requirements
Pupils must take the AS-Level Units in the 6th, alongside Higher. These provide evidence as to whether it is wise to proceed to A-Level. New pupils joining in the 7ths can usually be accommodated, if they have done some AS-Level work already; every case is different and has to be considered individually.
The AS-Level History syllabus
Essays remain the method of assessment at this level. At AS-Level basic skills of structure, relevance and analysis are developed. At A-Level essays can be enhanced with extra depth, breadth and sophistication – even originality. In some papers the emphasis is on the synthesis of a wide range of material; in others the emphasis is on the comparison of historians’ arguments.
1: Britain 1900-1924
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2. The Cold War in Europe.
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A2 Syllabus |
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3: Coursework
(b) A 2000-word essay investigating a historical problem of the candidates choice. |
4. Historical themes. Either Russian and its rulers 1855-1964. The tsars, Lenin, Stalin and Kruschev all ruled one of the mightiest civilisations in the world. The grandeur of the themes and the human tragedies develop on an unimaginable scale. Or The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789-1919. Between the high ideals of the Nationalist students who helped drive out Napoleon and the malignant racism of the National Socialists something went wrong with German Nationalism. Notable characters include Metternich, Bismarck, Wagner and Kaiser William II. Or Tudor Foreign Policy 1485-1603. Costume drama, adventure and skulduggery in the days of James IV, Mary Queen of Scots and the Spanish Armada. |
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This was a period of momentous social and political change, culminating in the realignment of politics following the First World War. (Consider, for example, the Boer War, the Titanic, the suffragettes and the rise of Labour.)This will be a study in depth, involving the use of primary sources. 
Unlike the comparable Higher paper this does not include Vietnam. But clearly there is content enough: NATO, the Berlin Wall, the Prague Spring, the Gorbachev revolution….
(a) A 2000-word essay analysing certain specific historical interpretations, using extracts from modern
historians, and considering their arguments and the evidence they use. The board offers 22 different topics,
from the Roman Empire under Justinian to the United Kingdom under Thatcher. 
The board offers a wide range of options. Pupils will contribute to the choice of option. It is likely that the
choices will be:This page is: Edinburgh Academy / curriculum / history /alevel.htm
