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Government and Politics |
GOVERNMENT
AND POLITICAL STUDIES
Why
choose Government
and Political Studies?
Government and Political Studies fits
with most subject combinations, broadens the mind ,
and enhances prospects in a wide range of employment and higher education
opportunities. You will gain skills and
knowledge which are recognised as being of positive value in today=s world.
What
does the course involve?
You will study a range of topics
relating to how the British Government system works and the ideas behind it,
plus the political parties and their ideas and actions in recent years on a
wide variety of public issues.
There are two examination routes, each
worth 50%.
They are:
AS - consisting of 3 units:
(1) People and Politics
(2) Governing the
(3) The changing
A2 - consisting of 3 units
(1) UK Political issues
(2) The EU and European issues
(3) Policy-making in the
Both AS and A2 exam papers provide an
element of question choice for the student.
Students wishing to proceed onto A2
must first have completed the AS course.
How
is this course taught?
Teaching is by structured lessons which
require text book pre-reading and by completion of essays topics within
deadlines. Debate is encouraged.
How
is the course assessed?
Final assessment in each unit is by
written exam at the end of the first year (AS), and the second year (A2).
Exam questions require both short and
long answers, which give students of varying abilities an equal chance to
reflect their basic knowledge as well as their deeper understanding. Questions
are guaranteed to be set on all aspects of study.
Why
is it valuable?
You will increase your awareness and
critical judgement of politics and the opinions of politicians; you will learn
to write in an analytical and objective way about government and the
decision-making process and to distinguish between political rhetoric, opinion
and fact. You will learn to look at,
listen and read more attentively the media coverage of government and political
events. These skills will enhance your
prospects in a wide range of employment and higher education
opportunities. You should enjoy reading,
have an open and enquiring mind, and be able to put forward a point of view. You should enjoy learning about how this
country is governed. You will be
expected to follow political events and public debate by reading quality
newspapers and viewing discussion programmes on TV. You need to be proficient at English as much
response is in essay format.