Switching to AQA from OCR B

Written exam paper

Written exam

2 hours

1 hour 45 minutes

84 marks (including four marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar)

80 marks

50% of GCSE

40% of the GCSE

Section A:

• 40 marks
• Students answer six questions.
• The first three questions test interpretations (AO4).
• The fourth question tests their knowledge and understanding (AO1) and the last two questions test AO1 with AO2 (explanation and analysis of historical events and periods using second-order concepts).

Thematic Study:

• 40 marks
• Students answer four questions.
• The first question is in three parts and tests knowledge and understanding (AO1 Knowledge and understanding).
• The second question requires students to create their own structured accounts. It targets AO1 (knowledge and understanding) and AO2 (explanation and analysis of historical events and periods using second-order concepts).
• The third question is an explain style question which targets AO1 and AO2.
• The final question is an essay question which targets AO1 and AO2. There is a choice of two questions.

Section B:

• The section is worth 44 marks (including four marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar).
• Students answer four questions.
• The first two questions target source evaluation (AO3) and the other two questions test AO1 and AO2.

British Depth Study:

• This section is worth 40 marks.
• Students answer four questions.
• The first question requires students to analyse one interpretation and targets AO4 (interpretations).
• The second question will ask students to identify an area of further research into an aspect of the historical situation or issue arising from the interpretation in  question 1. This question will target AO1 and AO2.
• The third question will ask students to analyse and evaluate how and why two interpretations differ and will target AO4.
• The final question will ask students to evaluate how far they agree with a given interpretation and will target AO1, AO2 and AO4.

Written exam

Written exam

2 hours

1 hour

84 marks (including 4 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar)

50 marks (including 10 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar)

50% of the GCSE

20% of the GCSE

Section A Thematic Study

• This section is worth 44 marks (including 4 marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar).
• Students answer four questions.
• The first question tests sources (AO3). The other three questions target AO1 (knowledge and understanding) and AO2 (explanation of second order concepts).
• There will be three questions worth 20 marks each. Students choose two questions.
• Students will need to use the physical remains of their chosen site and contextual knowledge to answer the questions.

Section B British Depth Study

• This section is worth 40 marks.
• Students answer four questions.
• The first question tests interpretations (AO4). The other three questions target AO1 and AO2.

There is no section  B.

There is no Paper 3.

Written exam

1 hour 45 minutes

40 marks

40% of the GCSE

There is no Paper 3.

Period Study

• 40 marks
• 20% of the GCSE
• Students answer four questions.
• The first question is in three parts and tests knowledge and understanding (AO1 Knowledge and understanding).
• The second question requires students to create their own structured accounts. It targets AO1 (knowledge and understanding) and AO2 (explanation and analysis of historical events and periods using second-order concepts).
• The third question is an explain style question which targets AO1 and AO2.
• The final question is an essay question which targets AO1 and AO2. There is a choice of two questions

Wider world depth study

• 40 marks
• 20% of the GCSE
• The first question will target AO3 (sources) and will ask students to analyse a single source.
• The second question will target AO3 and/or AO4 and will ask students to evaluate the usefulness of a set of sources/interpretations.
• The final question will be an essay question where students need to evaluate how far they agree with a given view from an interpretation. The question will target AO1, AO2 and AO4. There will be a choice of two questions.

Section A Period Study

Thematic Study

Students take one of the following options:

1A America, 1840–1895: Expansion and Consolidation

• Expansion: opportunities and challenges
• Conflict across America
• Consolidation: forging the nation

1B Germany, 1890–1945: Democracy and dictatorship

• Germany and the growth of democracy
• Germany and the depression
• The experiences of Germans under the Nazis

1C Russia, 1894–1945: Tsardom and communism

• The end of Tsardom
• Lenin’s new society
• Starlin’s USSR

1D America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and inequality

• American people and the ‘Boom’
• Bust – Americans’ experiences of the Depression and New Deal
• Post-war America.

Students take one of the following options:

The People’s Health, c1250 to present

• Medieval Britain c.1250–c.1500
• Early Modern
• Britain c.1500–c.1750
• Industrial Britain,c.1750–c.1900
• Britain since c.1900

Crime and punishment, c1250 to present

• Medieval Britain c.1250–c.1500
• Early Modern Britain c.1500–c.1750
• Industrial Britain,c.1750–c.1900
• Britain since c.1900

Migrants to Britain, c1250 to present

• Medieval Britain c.1250–c.1500
• Early Modern Britain c.1500–c.1750
• Industrial Britain,c.1750–c.1900
• Britain since c.1900

Section B Wider World Depth Study

Students take one of the following options:

Conflict and tension, the First World War, 1894–1918

• The causes of the First World War
• The First World War: stalemate
• Ending the war

Conflict and tension, the Interwar Years, 1918–1939

• Peace making
• The League of Nations and international peace
• The origins and outbreak of the Second World War

Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945–1972

• The origins of the Cold War
• The development of the Cold War
• Transformation of the Cold War

Conflict and tension in Asia, 1950–1975

• Conflict in Korea
• Escalation of conflict in Vietnam
• The ending of conflict in Vietnam

Conflict and tension in the Gulf and Afghanistan

• Tensions in the Gulf
• The war on Al-Qaeda
• The Iraq War.

British Depth Study

Students take one of the following options:

The Norman Conquest, 1065–1087

• England on the eve of the
• conquest
• Invasion and victory
• Resistance and response
• Castles
• Conquest and control

The Elizabethans, 1580–1603

• Elizabeth and government
• Catholics
• Daily lives
• Popular culture
• The wider world

Britain in Peace and War, 1900–1918

• Wealth
• Politics
• Women
• Empire
• War

Section A Thematic Study

History Around Us

Students take one of the following options:

Britain: Health and the people: c1000 to the present day

• Medicine stands still
• The beginnings of change
• A revolution in medicine
• Modern medicine

Britain: Power and the people: c1170 to the present day

• Challenging authority and feudalism
• Challenging royal authority
• Reform and reformers
• Equality and rights

Britain: Migration, empires and people: c790 to the present day

• Conquered and conquerors
• Looking West
• Expansion and empire
• Britain in the 20^th century.

Students study a specified site that has been chosen by their centre and approved by the awarding body.

Section B British Depth Study

There’s no Section B for this paper.

Students take one of the following options incorporating the study of a specific historic environment:

Norman England, c1066–c1100

• The Normans: conquest and control
• Life under the Normans
• The Norman Church and monasticism
• The historic environment of Norman England

Medieval England: the reign of Edward I, 1272–1307

• Government, the rights of King and people
• Life in Medieval England
• Edward I’s military campaigns in Wales and Scotland
• The historic environment of Medieval England

Elizabethan England, c1568–1603

• Elizabeth’s court and Parliament
• Life in Elizabethan times
• Troubles at home and abroad
• The historic environment of Elizabethan England

Restoration England, 1660–1685

• Crown, Parliament, plots and court life
• Life in Restoration England
• Land, trade and war
• The historic environment of Restoration England

There is no Paper 3.

Period study

Students take one of the following topics:

Viking Expansion, c.750–c.1050

• Homelands
• Volga Vikings
• Raiders and Invaders
• Settlers
• Kings

The Mughal Empire, 1526–1707

• The First Mughal Emperors, 1526–1556
• Akbar, 1556–1605
• Jahangir, 1605–1627
• Shah Jahan, 1627–1658
• Aurangzeb 1658–1707

The Making of America, 1789–1900

• America’s expansion 1789–1838
• The West 1839–1860
• Civil War and Reconstruction 1861–1877
• Settlement and conflict on the Plains 1861–1877
• American cultures 1877–1900

Wider World Depth Study

Students take one of the following options:

The First Crusade, c.1070–1100

• Origins c.1070–1095
• Responses November 1095 to December 1096
• Into Asia Minor December 1096 to October 1097
• Antioch October 1097 to June 1098
• Jerusalem July 1098 to July 1100

Aztecs and the Spanish Conquest, 1519–1535

• Moctezuma’s Empire
• Controlling the Empire
• Encounters
• Conquest, 1519–1521
• The birth of New Spain

Living under Nazi Rule, 1933–1945

• Dictatorship
• Control and Opposition,1933–1939
• Changing Lives,1933–1939
• Germany in War
• Occupation