Head of Government and Politics: Mrs J Ellison
Politics is about what kind of society we wish to live in. Politics is a fast moving contemporary subject and students are expected to keep up to date with current affairs. Politics is taught in a fun and engaging way. Students are expected to contribute to class discussions and debates and give presentations. Students develop their independent learning and research skills which is excellent preparation for university. The department uses a range of teaching strategies to enable all students to reach their potential. The department has a wide range of teaching materials at its disposal, including several online resources. We seek to promote ‘anytime, anywhere learning’. For example we use a website called Pre Chewed Politics which gives students the opportunity to widen their knowledge and understanding through the use of mini video clips and more in depth articles and news reviews.
Course content
Examination board: Edexcel
Unit 1: UK Politics
This unit focuses on democracy and participation, political parties, electoral systems, voting behaviour and the media
Unit 2: UK Government
This unit focuses on the constitution, parliament, Prime Minister and executive and relationships between the branches
Unit 3: Comparative Politics
This unit focuses on the US Constitution and federalism, US Congress, US presidency, US Supreme Court and civil rights, democracy and participation, and comparative theories
This course is examined through three written examinations.
Co-curricular
Students take part in a wide range of visits and conferences. Politics students have entered and won a prestigious borough wide Euroscola competition, which has enabled them to visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg. In Strasbourg, they are able to mix with young people from over twenty five different European countries and take part in a number of debates and workshops. Students have the opportunity to visit the Houses of Parliament and take part in seminars with other schools and they are also able to attend a range of conferences to extend their political understanding. The department also publishes a magazine called Politico which students across all year groups contribute to.
University and beyond
A number of students have gone on to study Politics, International Relations and Social Policy at a variety of different universities such as Edinburgh, Warwick, Sheffield, Birmingham, Reading and Swansea. Politics is a valued subject by employers as independent critical thinking is essential in many career fields such as law, marketing, media, journalism and business and enterprise.