Politics



Subject Leader

Mr C Cottingham – ccottingham@oriel.w-sussex.sch.uk 

Teaching Staff

Mr J Smith – jsmith4@oriel.w-sussex.sch.uk


A-Level Government & Politics

Year 12Mr SmithMr Cottingham
Term 1Political Parties:
  1. Features, Functions and Funding
  2. Left Wing and Right Wing
  3. The Conservative Party
  4. The Labour Party
  5. Other Parties
  6. Factors affecting party success
Liberalism:
  1. Origins of Liberalism
  2. Core ideas of Liberalism
  3. Differing views and tensions within Liberalism
  4. Key Liberal thinkers
Term 2Democracy and Participation:
  1. Direct and Representative Democracy
  2. Pluralism and Democracy
  3. How democratic is the UK?
  4. Political Participation
  5. Pressure Groups, Think Tanks and Lobbyists
  6. Rights in the UK
Conservatism:
  1. Origins of Conservatism
  2. Core ideas of Conservatism
  3. Differing views and tensions within Conservatism
  4. Key Conservative thinkers
Term 3UK Constitution:
  1. Development of the UK Constitution
  2. Nature, Source and Principles
  3. Constitutional Reform
  4. Devolution in the UK
  5. Future of Devolution
  6. The Codification Debate
Socialism:
  1. Origins of Socialism
  2. Core ideas of Socialism
  3. Differing views and tensions within Socialism
  4. Key Socialist thinkers
Term 4Parliament:
  1. Structure of the Commons and the Lords
  2. Functions of the Commons and the Lords
  3. Powers of the Commons and the Lords
  4. Parliamentary Reform
  5. Legislative Process
  6. Scrutiny and Accountability
Nationalism:
  1. Origins of Nationalism
  2. Core ideas of Nationalism
  3. Different types of Nationalism
  4. Key Nationalist thinkers
Term 5Prime Minister and Executive:
  1. Structure of Executive and the PM
  2. The Cabinet and the Ministers
  3. Role of the Executive and Legislation
  4. Ministerial responsibility
  5. Powers of the PM and Cabinet
  6. Relationship between PM and Cabinet
Voting and the Media:
  1. Case Studies [‘79,’97,’10,’17]
  2. Manifestos and campaigns
  3. Class and voting
  4. Other Demographic Factors
  5. Voting Behaviour
  6. Role and impact of the Media
Term 6Electoral Systems:
  1. Four different electoral systems
  2. Advantages of Disadvantages of each
  3. FPTP compared with others systems
  4. Referendums in the UK
  5. Electoral systems and Government
  6. Impact of electoral systems
Relations between Branches:
  1. The Supreme Court
  2. Judicial Independence
  3. Supreme Court and Parliament
  4. Parliament VS Executive
  5. The European Union
  6. Sovereignty
Year 13Mr SmithMr Cottingham
Term 1US Constitution and Federalism:
  1. Nature of the Constitution
  2. Amendment Process
  3. Principles of the Constitution
  4. Characteristics of US Federalism
  5. Interpretations and debates
  6. 6. Strengths and Weaknesses
Congress:
  1. Structure of Congress
  2. Functions of Congress
  3. Legislation
  4. Oversight
  5. Interpretations and debates
  6. Changing powers of Congress
Term 2US Presidency:
  1. Formal sources of Presidential Power
  2. Informal sources
  3. The Presidency
  4. Limits on presidential power
  5. Interpretations and debates
  6. 6. The President and foreign policy
Supreme court and Human Rights:
  1. Nature and role of the S.C.
  2. Appointment Process
  3. Supreme Court and Public Policy
  4. Protection of Civil Liberties
  5. Race and Rights in the USA
  6. Interpretations and debates
Term 3Comparative Approaches:
  1. Theoretical Approaches
  2. Constitutions
  3. Legislatures
  4. Executives
  5. Judiciary and Civil Rights
  6. Democracy and Participation [US vs. UK]
Democracy and Participation:
  1. Electoral systems in the USA
  2. Primaries and Caucuses
  3. Campaign Finance
  4. Republicans and Democrats
  5. Interest Groups in the USA
  6. Interpretation and Debates
Term 4Revision and Exam PracticeRevision and Exam Practice
Term 5Revision and Exam PracticeRevision and Exam Practice
Term 6Course finishedCourse finished