A-level History₇₀₄₂

1.1 Why choose AQA for A-level History

Helping students understand the significance of historical events

Our AS and A-level History qualifications have been designed to help students understand the significance of historical events, the role of individuals in history and the nature of change over time. Our qualifications will help them to gain a deeper understanding of the past through political, social, economic and cultural perspectives. The engaging topics available to them throughout the course will provide them with the knowledge and skills they require to succeed as AS and A-level historians.

Flexibility of choice

We offer teachers and students the choice of British, European, American and World history

Well-resourced and popular topics

• After careful consultation with teachers and Higher Education, we have kept our most popular topics so you can re-use or adapt your departmental resources. We have also developed some new topics in response to teachers’ feedback.
• We have worked closely with a number of publishers to produce textbooks that link directly to the specification.

Teach AS and A-level together

• Our AS not only provides a strong stand-alone qualification, it is also fully co-teachable with the A-level.
• Content for the AS and the first year of the A-level is identical.
• The skills required for AS questions are closely linked to those in A-level questions.
• We clearly articulate the skills and techniques that we expect students to display at AS and A-level as well as producing clear question papers and mark schemes.

We’re confident that you will enjoy teaching our specification and that your students will be able to show what they know, understand and can do, mastering the craft of the A-level historian.

You can find out about all our History qualifications at aqa.org.uk/history .

1.2 Support and resources to help you teach

We know that support and resources are vital for your teaching and that you have limited time to find or develop good quality materials. So we’ve worked with experienced teachers to provide you with a range of resources that will help you confidently plan, teach and prepare for exams.

Teaching resources

We have too many History resources to list here so visit aqa.org.uk/7042 to see them all. They include:

• sample schemes of work and lesson plans to help you plan your course with confidence
• sample question papers and mark schemes
• guidance about source material and teaching resources
• training courses to help you deliver AQA History qualifications.

Preparing for exams

Visit aqa.org.uk/7707 for everything you need to prepare for our exams, including:

• past papers, mark schemes and examiners’ reports
• sample papers and mark schemes for new courses
• example student answers with examiner commentaries.

Analyse your students' results with Data Insights

We've replaced Enhanced Results Analysis (ERA) with a new platform – Data Insights. It does the same things as ERA – and more.

Find out which questions were the most challenging, how the results compare to previous years and where your students need to improve. Data Insights, our free online results analysis tool, will help you see where to focus your teaching. Find out more at aqa.org.uk/data-insights

For information about results, including maintaining standards over time, grade boundaries and our post-results services, visit aqa.org.uk/results

Keep your skills up to date with professional development

Wherever you are in your career, there’s always something new to learn. As well as subject-specific training, we offer a range of courses to help boost your skills:

• improve your teaching skills in areas including differentiation, teaching literacy and meeting Ofsted requirements
• help you prepare for a new role with our leadership and management courses.

You can attend a course at venues around the country, in your school or online – whatever suits your needs and availability. Find out more at coursesandevents.aqa.org.uk

Get help and support

Visit our website for information, guidance, support and resources. aqa.org.uk/7201

You can talk directly to the History subject team:

E: history@aqa.org.uk

T: 0161 958 3865