History
Provisional Exam Board: AQA
The proposed course content and exam board are provisional and may be subject to change before the start of the course.
Understand the past. Question the evidence. Make sense of the present.
History is more than learning what happened. It is about understanding why societies change, how power is gained and challenged, and how the decisions of the past continue to shape the world around us. A Level History gives you the opportunity to explore some of the most significant periods of political and social change while developing your ability to question evidence, challenge interpretations and construct convincing arguments of your own.
At BOA Digital Sixth Form, History also has a distinctly modern dimension. Historians now have access to enormous digital collections of newspapers, photographs, government records, maps, speeches and archive material. You'll explore how these resources can support historical investigation while developing the critical skills needed to decide what evidence can be trusted. In a world of AI-generated content, misinformation and increasingly convincing manipulated media, the historian's ability to interrogate evidence has rarely been more relevant.
What will I study?
The Making of a Superpower: USA, 1865–1975
How did a nation emerging from Civil War become a global superpower? This unit, provisionally worth 40% of the A Level, takes you through a century of dramatic change in the United States. Beginning in 1865, you'll explore America's economic, political and international development as it emerged onto the world stage and grew into a global power.
Your studies take you through a period of enormous transformation, culminating in the era of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal. Rather than simply learning a sequence of events, you'll consider the forces driving change and continuity across a century of American history and explore how historians have interpreted America's development.
The English Revolution, 1625–1660
What happens when a country becomes divided over who should hold power? This unit, also provisionally worth 40% of the A Level, explores the origins and consequences of the English Civil War and one of the most significant periods of political upheaval in British history.
You'll investigate the deteriorating relationship between the Monarchy and Parliament, the outbreak of Civil War and the revolutionary changes that followed. The period raises fascinating questions about authority, religion, government and political power, while examining a crucial turning point that contributed significantly to the development of the modern British state.
Historical Investigation
The final 20% of the proposed A Level gives you the opportunity to become an independent historian. You'll choose a historical topic covering a period of approximately 100 years and develop your own investigation. You'll research your subject, evaluate primary source material, engage with the arguments and interpretations of historians, and construct an extended essay of approximately 4,000 words.
Your investigation could explore the French Revolution, the fall of the Roman Empire, women's rights or political change in Germany, or another area of history that particularly interests you. Digital research opens up exciting possibilities, with digitised newspapers, photographs, maps, government documents and searchable archive collections placing huge amounts of historical evidence at your fingertips. The challenge is not simply finding information – it is learning how to select, interrogate and evaluate it.
History in a digital world
The past hasn't changed, but how we access and investigate it has. Modern historians increasingly work with digital archives, searchable databases, digitised collections and new methods of analysing and presenting historical evidence. At BOA Digital, you'll develop the traditional skills of the historian while recognising how technology is changing historical research.
You might use digitised archives to investigate contemporary accounts, compare historical maps and photographs, explore collections of newspapers or consider how technology can preserve and make historical evidence accessible. You'll also consider an increasingly important challenge: how do we know whether something is authentic? As artificial intelligence makes it easier to generate convincing text, images, audio and video, skills such as source evaluation, corroboration, contextualisation and critical thinking become even more important.
How will I be assessed?
Under the course, assessment takes place through two 2 hour 30 minute examination papers, with each contributing 40% of the final A Level grade. The remaining 20% is assessed through the Historical Investigation, a non-examined assessment (NEA) of approximately 4,000 words.
Throughout the course, you'll develop your ability to analyse evidence, evaluate different interpretations, research independently and communicate complex arguments clearly. These are skills that matter not only in History, but across higher education and the modern workplace.
Where could History take me?
History develops highly transferable skills in research, critical thinking, analysis, argument and communication, making it an excellent foundation for further study and a wide range of careers. It can support progression into areas such as law, journalism, education, heritage, business, marketing, communications, the Civil Service and research, while also complementing subjects across BOA Digital's academic, creative and technical pathways.
The relationship between history and technology is also creating new possibilities. Digital archives, digital humanities, heritage technology, data-led historical research and digital media increasingly bring together an understanding of the past with the technologies of the present.
You won't simply study the past. You'll learn how to investigate evidence, challenge what you're told and reach conclusions of your own.