Most chosen general qualifications exam board in England.

  • About AQA

  • Centre Services

  • Join Us

  • Contact Us

AQA
  • Subjects
  • Qualifications
  • Professional Development
  • Exams Admin
  • Services
  • Search
  • Subjects

  • Qualifications

  • Professional Development

  • Exams Admin

  • Services

  • About AQA

  • Centre Services

  • Join Us

  • Contact Us

  • Log in

Subjects

  • Accounting

  • Art and Design

  • Biology

  • Business

  • Chemistry

  • Computer Science

  • Dance

  • Design and Technology

  • Drama

  • Economics

  • English

  • Food preparation and Nutrition

  • French

  • Geography

  • German

  • History

  • Law

  • Mathematics

  • Media Studies

  • Music

  • Physical Education

  • Physics

  • Politics

  • Psychology

  • Religious Studies

  • Science

  • Sociology

  • Spanish

  • All subjects

GCSEs

  • Biology (8461)

  • Chemistry (8462)

  • Combined Science: Trilogy (8464)

  • English Language (8700)

  • English Literature (8702)

  • Geography (8035)

  • History (8145)

  • Mathematics (8300)

  • See all GCSEs

AS and A-levels

  • Biology (7401)

  • Business (7131)

  • Chemistry (7404)

  • Geography (7037)

  • History (7041)

  • Physics (7407)

  • Psychology (7181)

  • Sociology (7191)

  • See all AS and A-Levels

Other qualifications

  • Applied Generals

  • AQA Certificate Mathematics

  • Entry Level Certificates

  • Project Qualifications

  • Unit Award Scheme

  • All qualifications

Our training

  • Course finder

  • About our training

  • Online training

  • Face-to-face training

  • In-school training

  • Inside assessment

Courses by theme

  • Effective exam prep

  • Exams officers

  • Getting started

  • Unit Award Scheme

Courses by subject

  • English

  • Mathematics

  • Science

  • Languages

  • Design and Technology

  • Physical Education

  • Geography

  • History

  • All professional development

Dates

  • Dates and timetables

  • Key dates

Non-exam assessment (NEA)

  • NEA, coursework and controlled assessment

  • Deadlines for non-exam assessment

  • Record forms

  • Submit marks

Exams

  • Entries

  • Entry fees

  • Exams guidance

  • Question papers and stationery

  • Access arrangements

  • Special consideration

Results

  • Results days

  • Results slips

  • Grade boundaries

  • Results statistics

  • Post-results services

  • Exam certificates

  • All Exams Admin

Assessment Services

  • Centre Services

  • Associate Extranet

  • Become an associate

Products

  • All About Maths

  • Alpha Plus

  • Data Insights

  • Exampro

  • Project Q

  • Stride Maths

  • Testbase

  • Unit Award Scheme

News and Insights

  • AQI research and insight

  • News

  • Inside exams podcast

  1. Home
  2. Subjects
  3. History
  4. AS History

AS History7041

SpecificationPlanning resourcesTeaching resourcesAssessment resourcesKey dates
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Specification at a glance
3.0 Subject content
Introduction
1A The Age of the Crusades, c1071–1149
1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1547
1D Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1649
1F Industrialisation and the People: Britain, c1783–1832
1G Challenge and Transformation: Britain, c1851–1914
1H Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1855–1917
1J The British Empire, c1857–1914
1K The Making of a Superpower: USA, 1865–1920
1L The Quest for Political Stability: Germany, 1871–1929
2A Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1189
2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1471
2D Religious Conflict and the Church in England, c1529–c1547
2E The English Revolution, 1625–1642
2G The Birth of the USA, 1760–1776
2J America: A Nation Divided, c1845–1861
2L Italy and Fascism, c1900–1926
2M Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition, 1906–1929
2N Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–1929
2O Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918–1933
2P The Transformation of China, 1936–1962
2Q The American Dream: Reality and Illusion, 1945–1963
2R The Cold War, c1945–1963
2S The Making of Modern Britain, 1951–1979
4.0 Scheme of assessment
5.0 General administration
History AS Specification

History AS Specification

14 Oct 2021

PDF | 504.85 KB

5.0 General administration

You can find information about all aspects of administration, as well as all the forms you need, at aqa.org.uk/examsadmin

5.1 Entries and codes

You only need to make one entry for each qualification – this will cover both question papers and certification.

Every specification is given a national discount (classification) code by the Department for Education (DfE), which indicates its subject area.

If a student takes two specifications with the same discount code, Further and Higher Education providers are likely to take the view that they have only achieved one of the two qualifications. Please check this before your students start their course.

Qualification titleAQA entry codeDfE discount code
AQA Advanced Subsidiary GCE in History 7041 + letters for components 1 and 2 (see below) 4010 (Post 16), DB (KS4)

The entry codes for History are dependent on the components studied by the student. They can be determined using the following rules.

For AS, the first part of the code is 7041.

The next letter is the component 1 option (A to L).

The next letter is the component 2 option (A to T).

For example, the entry code for AS Component 1A The Age of the Crusades c1071–1149 and AS Component 2E The English Revolution 1625–1642 would be 7041AE.

See aqa.org.uk/entries for a full list of all possible entry codes. Please also look at the prohibited combinations in Specification at a glance.

This specification complies with Ofqual’s:

  • General Conditions of Recognition that apply to all regulated qualifications
  • GCE qualification level conditions that apply to all GCEs
  • GCE subject level conditions that apply to all GCEs in this subject
  • all relevant regulatory documents.

The Ofqual qualification accreditation number (QAN) is 601/4974/7

5.2 Overlaps with other qualifications

There is overlapping content in the AS and A-level History specifications. This helps you teach the AS and A-level together.

5.3 Awarding grades and reporting results

The AS qualification will be graded on a five-point scale: A, B, C, D and E.

Students who fail to reach the minimum standard for grade E will be recorded as U (unclassified) and will not receive a qualification certificate.

5.4 Re-sits and shelf life

Students can re-sit the qualification as many times as they wish, within the shelf life of the qualification.

5.5 Previous learning and prerequisites

There are no previous learning requirements. Any requirements for entry to a course based on this specification are at the discretion of schools and colleges.

However, we recommend that students should have the skills and knowledge associated with a GCSE History course or equivalent.

5.6 Access to assessment: diversity and inclusion

General qualifications are designed to prepare students for a wide range of occupations and further study. Therefore our qualifications must assess a wide range of competences.

The subject criteria have been assessed to see if any of the skills or knowledge required present any possible difficulty to any students, whatever their ethnic background, religion, sex, age, disability or sexuality. If any difficulties were encountered, the criteria were reviewed again to make sure that tests of specific competences were only included if they were important to the subject.

As members of the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) we participate in the production of the JCQ document Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments: General and Vocational qualifications . We follow these guidelines when assessing the needs of individual students who may require an access arrangement or reasonable adjustment. This document is published on the JCQ website at jcq.org.uk

Students with disabilities and special needs

We can make arrangements for disabled students and students with special needs to help them access the assessments, as long as the competences being tested are not changed. Access arrangements must be agreed before the assessment. For example, a Braille paper would be a reasonable adjustment for a Braille reader but not for a student who does not read Braille.

We are required by the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to remove or lessen any disadvantage that affects a disabled student.

If you have students who need access arrangements or reasonable adjustments, you can apply using the Access arrangements online service at aqa.org.uk/eaqa

Special consideration

We can give special consideration to students who have been disadvantaged at the time of the assessment through no fault of their own – for example a temporary illness, injury or serious problem such as the death of a relative. We can only do this after the assessment.

Your exams officer should apply online for special consideration at aqa.org.uk/eaqa

For more information and advice about access arrangements, reasonable adjustments and special consideration please see aqa.org.uk/access or email accessarrangementsqueries@aqa.org.uk

5.7 Working with AQA for the first time

If your school or college has not previously offered any AQA specification, you need to register as an AQA centre to offer our specifications to your students. Find out how at aqa.org.uk/becomeacentre

If your school or college is new to this specification, please let us know by completing an Intention to enter form. The easiest way to do this is via e-AQA at aqa.org.uk/eaqa

5.8 Private candidates

A private candidate is someone who enters for exams through an AQA-approved school or college but is not enrolled as a student there.

If you are a private candidate you may be self-taught, home-schooled or have private tuition, either with a tutor or through a distance learning organisation. You must be based in the UK.

If you have any queries as a private candidate, you can:

  • speak to the exams officer at the school or college where you intend to take your exams
  • visit our website at aqa.org.uk/examsadmin
  • email: privatecandidates@aqa.org.uk
4.0 Scheme of assessment
AQA
  • Become an examiner
  • Switch to AQA
  • Contact Us
  • Join us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Accessibility
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • Cookie notice
  • X
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube

©AQA 2025 | Company number: 03644723 | Registered office: Devas Street, Manchester, M15 6EX | AQA is not responsible for the content of external sites

AQA Education has obtained an injunction preventing interference with public examinations. This notice is to alert you to the injunction, so that you are aware of it and can make submissions about it if you wish to do so.