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A Level History Handbook
2025-26
Name
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Content Page
History Handbook
Page 3 - Who teaches history?
Pages 4-5 - Enrichment
Page 6 - Britain Checklists
Page 7 - Germany Checklists
Page 8 - Expectations
Page 9 - Learning Outside the Classroom
Page 10 - How to write an A Level essay
The Wisdom of Winston
"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."
"Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it."
"If you are going through hell, keep going."
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Who Teaches History?
The History Department
All teachers in the department teach A-level History:
Why study History?
History is a gateway to understanding the world: the people who inhabit it, the societies that have been created by it and how it has led us to being who we are. It contributes to our moral understanding and provides our identity. It is important for good citizenship and teaches a range of fundamental skills.
How is A-Level different from GCSE?
The same skills are used at AS level as at GCSE but at a higher level and wider reading is expected.
Key skills:
The topics are also different. At A-level, there is a mix between the twentieth century (Britain, 1930-1997/Germany 1919-1963) and Sixteenth Century history (the Tudors). This will give you an opportunity to explore different historical eras which may help to determine where your primary interests in the subject lies.
You will also be given the opportunity to write a piece of coursework on the topic of your choosing in Y13. You should begin thinking what eras and questions in history interest you most of all so that you can research and write about a piece of history that you are most passionate about.
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Enrichment
The History Department
Enrichment and super curricular opportunities
In order to support your learning we recommend that you engage in activities from all of the sections below to help widen your interest in the subject as well as begin to introduce you to the kind of independent learning activities we encourage you to engage with during A level study.
As a minimum we would like you to complete the following:
Subject Reading List
Please refer to the reading lists of pages 14-15 of this booklet which will direct you to books which cover the courses you will study at A Level. Our recommendation is that you read at least one book from this list prior to beginning the course in September.
The most accessible books which I would recommend are:
Dominic Sandbrook’s books on Britain 1956-1982. The BBC also made a TV series to accompany his books.
Never had it so good, 1956-1964
White Heat, 1964-1970
State of Emergency, 1970-1974
Seasons in the Sun, 1974-179
Another accessible book is Andrew Marr’s A History of Modern Britain, and accompanying TV Series.
For the Germany course I would recommend the books of Richard Evans who is perhaps the most distinguished historian of Germany between 1919-1945.
The Coming of the Third Reich: How the Nazis Destroyed Democracy and Seized Power in Germany
The Third Reich in Power, 1933 - 1939: How the Nazis Won Over the Hearts and Minds of a Nation
The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster
Links
I’d also recommend that you take out a 30 day free subscription with history hit tv which is the Netflix of history! It contains thousands of excellent historical programming and documentaries and you can pick and choose the areas that interest you.
The History Hit Youtube channel which contains all of the podcasts from the series is also outstanding and well worth checking out.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZwU2G-KVl-P-O-B35chZOQ
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Courses
One such course they offer can be found on the link below. This course is on the Tudors and will give you an overview of the Tudor period that we will study in Years 12 and 13 so would be excellent preparation. Moreover, one of the course tutors in well-known historian and former Nonsuch student Susannah Lipscombe.
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/the-tudors
Other Opportunities
Finally, you might also be interested in entering into any number of the many essay writing competitions held by Oxford and Cambridge. Though some of the deadlines have now passed you can still write an answer for submission next year. The link below will direct you to 81 potential questions as part of the Robson prize awarded by Trinity College Cambridge.
https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/RobsonPrizequestions-1.pdf
The following is open for all students between the ages of 13-18 with a closing date of 31 August so plenty of time to submit. The history essay is really interesting at this current time:
What can the past teach us about the coronavirus pandemic?
https://www.immerse.education/essay-competition/
This is a brilliant website for students to undertake a mini module in your subject. There are lots of courses starting in the next couple of weeks and then they are recycled over and again. Please identify some courses from the website that you think will be particularly beneficial. The modules range from 2-8 weeks and require between 2-4 hours study a week. The modules are free.
One option might be to study a free history course with the Open University
Some courses include:
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Unit 1: Britain 1930–1997
Schemes of Work
Enquiry Topic: Churchill 1930–1951 | |
Key Topics | Content Learners should have studied the following: |
Churchill’s view of events 1929–1940 | Why Churchill was out of office 1929–1939; his attitude to the Abdication Crisis; his views about Empire and India and clashes with his party; attitude towards Germany after 1933; his views about rearmament and appeasement; why Churchill became Prime Minister. |
Churchill as wartime Prime Minister | Why Churchill became Prime Minister; stance in 1940 and style of leadership; relations with his generals and his impact on strategic decisions in the Mediterranean, bombing of Germany and the war in Europe 1944–1945; plans for reconstruction and loss of 1945 election. |
Churchill and international diplomacy 1939–1951 | Churchill’s view on Britain’s world and imperial role; relations with other wartime leaders (Roosevelt, Stalin and de Gaulle); contribution to international conferences; plans for post-war Europe; Iron Curtain speech; attitude to Empire and Europe after 1945. |
British Period Study: Britain 1951–1997 | |
Key Topics | Content Learners should have studied the following: |
Conservative domination 1951–1964 | Reasons for the Conservative victory 1951; social changes, immigration, unrest, social mobility and tensions, education, living standards, housing, prosperity and unemployment; Conservative economic policies, Butskellism, industrial growth and stagflation; Conservative leadership of Churchill, Eden, Macmillan and Home; scandals including the Vassall affair, Philby, Argyll and Profumo; reasons for Conservative decline; Labour leadership, divisions and electoral failures of the Labour Party. |
Labour and Conservative governments 1964–1979 | Labour victory 1964, Wilson as leader 1964–1970; economic problems and policies; relations with the Trade Unions; Labour party divisions; 1970 election, Heath as party leader and Prime Minister; aims and policies of Heath’s government; industrial relations, miners’ strike; Wilson and Callaghan 1974–1979, problems and policies 1974–1979. |
Thatcher and the end of consensus 1979–1997 | Election victories; Thatcher and her ministers; reasons for support and opposition; social and economic policies including monetarism, free-market, supply-side economics and privatisation; social policies and unrest; unemployment and the Trade Unions, the Miners’ Strike; fall of Thatcher and replacement with Major; Conservative divisions under Major and electoral defeat 1997. |
Britain’s position in the world 1951–1997 | Relations with and policies towards the USA and the USSR; Britain’s influence at the UN; role in Europe; nuclear policy; response to crises: Korean War, Suez, the Falklands War, First Gulf War; decolonisation and changing attitudes to the Commonwealth. |
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Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963
Schemes of Work
Key Topics | Content Learners should have studied the following: |
The establishment and development of the Weimar Republic: 1919–Jan 1933 | Consequences of the First World War; impact of the Treaty of Versailles; the Weimar Constitution; coalition governments; challenges to Weimar; Communist revolts, Kapp Putsch, Munich Putsch, invasion of the Ruhr, hyperinflation; Stresemann and the ‘Golden Years’; Dawes and Young Plans, economic recovery, foreign loans, political stability, improvements to working and living conditions; the impact of the Great Depression, elections and governments 1928–1933; rise and appeal of Nazism, role of propaganda and Hitler; Papen, Schleicher and ‘backstairs intrigue’; Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor. |
The establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship and its domestic policies Feb 1933–1939 | Hitler’s consolidation of power, the Reichstag Fire, March Elections and Enabling Act, Gleichschaltung, creation of the one-party state, Night of the Long Knives, army oath and death of Hindenburg; system of government and administration; censorship and propaganda, machinery of terror, including courts, SS, Gestapo; treatment of opposition; religious policies; economic policies, Schacht’s New Plan, Goering’s Four Year Plan, public works, conscription and autarky; German Labour Front; ‘Strength through Joy’; policy towards women; education and policy towards youth; racial policies to 1939; benefits of Nazi rule. |
The impact of war and defeat on Germany: 1939–1949 | The war economy and Total War; impact of bombing; war and racial policies, the Final Solution; morale and rationing; opposition and resistance; consequences of the Second World War; Cold War, Potsdam, division of Germany, Bizonia and developments in the Soviet Zone, currency and the Berlin Blockade. |
Divided Germany: The Federal Republic and the DDR 1949–1963 | The creation of West Germany and the DDR; the Basic Law and constitution of West Germany; the 1949 election; the economic miracle; political and social stability; foreign policy, rapprochement with France, EEC, rearmament, NATO, policy towards USA and USSR, DDR; elections of 1953, 1957 and 1961; Berlin Wall; Adenauer’s decline and the Der Spiegel Crisis of 1962; West Germany in 1963; the GDR in 1949; uprising 1953; economic change, land reform, collectivisation, nationalisation and heavy industry; social change, churches, Trade Unions, education and youth. |
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Expectations
In order to provide students with the most effective support, the following principles, practices and processes are to be maintained:
The History Department’s commitment to students
What to do when stuck…
‘We all make mistakes, but only the wise learn from their mistakes’
Winston Churchill
Students can email teachers if they need further support. Below are the teachers’ emails:
Hawley-v@nonsuchschool.org
The History Department
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Learning Outside the Classroom
Societies
There is one society linked to the Department that students are encouraged to get involved in:
History & Politics Society – debates, lectures, presentations, competitions, re-enactments, visiting speakers
Trips
The Churchill War Rooms, lectures, conferences, The National Archives
Resources and Equipment
The Department buys students a textbook. Further resources are also provided, for example, photocopies, and the library is stocked with a wide range of appropriate books.
The department is a member of History Today as well as the Historical Association. You will be given access to these resources with a username and password at the beginning of the year.
The History Department
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Writing an A Level History essay
History is not known. It is therefore a debate. Any essay that you write in history should reflect this.
Below is an example of a typical history title and an exemplar paragraph has been supplied and annotated.
The period 1547-1562 was one of crisis in Tudor England. Assess the validity of this view.
The period between 1547 and 1562 was not one of crisis in Tudor England. Some historians have argued that the period represents a crisis because England’s foreign policy was an absolute disaster. This was most clearly seen in the lost of Calais by Mary I in 1558. Though Calais was of symbolic value rather then of any actual value to England, the loss of the last remaining piece of French territory held by the English monarchs was a significant blow. Moreover, prior to the reign of Mary I, the Protector Somerset also oversaw a disastrous foreign policy with the ‘rough wooing’ of Scotland failing to achieve its goal of convincing the Scottish to marry Mary Queen of Scots to Edward. In fact the policy was particularly disastrous as it had the effect of uniting the auld alliance of Scotland and France against England. However, the period was not one of total disaster in foreign policy. The Protector Northumberland was quick to realise that England’s foreign wars needed to be ended to ensure that she could fix her broken finances. He did this with the Treaty of Boulogne in 1550 which saw the French pay England 40,000 Crowns to leave Boulogne and Scotland and thus end the wars between them. This was a success for Northumberland as it demonstrated a pragmatic approach to foreign policy making which prioritised the domestic safety of England over the glory of foreign wars. Moreover, it would be wrong to call English foreign policy in this period one of crisis because Tudor foreign policy was nearly always a disaster. Henry VIII had engaged in a number of costly and ultimately fruitless wars and though Elizabeth had success in defeating the Spanish Armada this was a rare occurrence of a successfully foreign policy with her usually failing to act when threatened by foreign powers. Therefore, it must be reiterated that the period 1547-1562 was not one of crisis in Tudor England.
The History Department
The student puts forward their argument
A Considerable amount of detailed knowledge is written to explain why English foreign policy in the period might be seen as a disaster.
The word however is used to signal that the student is going to show that some might disagree and hold the opposite view. They then go on to show why some argue that English foreign policy was a success.
The word moreover is used to signal evaluation. The student has presented two conflicting views. They now need to evaluate which of the two arguments is the strongest and why.