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New A-level syllabus allows students to get closer to the history of the First World War than ever before By Saul David 2015 It seems fitting that AQA’s new History A-level syllabus will be introduced during the four years of the First World War centenary: 2014-2018. Why? Because, like that war, the changes are hugely significant – representing some of the most significant changes to the teaching and assessment of History Alevel since its introduction in 1951 – and they allow ample opportunity for studying and analyzing that conflict to a greater depth than ever before. From September 2015, students will be required to choose two subjects for examination at the end of two years – one Breadth Study (40 per cent of the final mark), encompassing a period of at least a century, and one Depth Study (40 per cent), a more detailed look at a shorter time-frame – and complete an Historical Investigation, in effect a short dissertation of 3,0003,500 words (20 per cent). The only restriction is that the studies must include both a British and a non-British subject and all three components must span at least 200 years. For those fascinated by the First World War, therefore, there are a number of options. If you’re interested in the origins of the war, for example – and there is no more keenly disputed topic among the current crop of Modern historians, myself included – you could choose ‘International Relations and Global Conflict, c18901941’ as your depth study. A big chunk of the first half of the study – ‘Great Power rivalries and entry into war, c1890-1917’ – looks at the long road to war as so brilliantly assessed in Margaret McMillan’s recent publication The War That Ended Peace. The study also, of course, covers the course of war up to 1918, taking in the Schlieffen Plan, the escalation of the conflict from a European War to a World War, and the entry into the war of Italy and the USA. The first part of the second half of the study – ‘The failure of international peace and the origins of the Second World War, 1917-1941’ – deals with the end of the war and the subsequent peace settlement at Versailles which, unintentionally of course, sowed the seeds for the rise of Hitler and the Nazis. Other First World War-related depth studies include ‘Italy and Fascism, c1900-1945’, with a section on Italy’s entry into the war in 1915 and its subsequent poor showing on the battlefield and disappointing peace settlement (laying the ground for the rise of Mussolini and the Fascists); ‘Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition, 1906-1957’, that looks at, among other things, the social, cultural, economic and political impact of the war on AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. Britain, including conscientious objectors, Women’s Suffrage and the war poets; and ‘Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia, 19171953’ that provides for the study in depth of the coming of the Russian Revolution in 1917 and its contribution to the end of the First World War (it freed up enough troops, for example, for Germany to attempt to win the war in the West before the arrival of US troops had tipped the balance). A good breadth study combination with ‘Great Power rivalries’ would be ‘Challenge and Transformation: Britain, c1851-1964’. That would allow the student to look at some of the same themes as ‘Wars and Welfare’ – including political, social and economic change – but in a broader context*. Other breadth studies that touch on the First World War include ‘The British Empire, c18571967’, ‘Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1855-1964’, ‘The Quest for Political Stability: Germany, 1871-1991’ and ‘The Making of a Superpower: USA, 1865-1975’. “Yet the most exciting aspect of the new A-level is the third component, the Historical Investigation. There was nothing like it in my day, and I wish there had been.” Yet the most exciting aspect of the new A-level is the third component, the Historical Investigation. There was nothing like it in my day, and I wish there had been. Why? Because – unlike the exam essays in the breadth and depth studies which are, in essence, an evaluation of other historians’ work – it gives students the chance to undertake their own historical research using both primary and secondary sources, and setting the issue within a 100-year context. It is not unlike the MA in Military History by Research that I teach for postgraduates at the University of Buckingham – albeit the word length is much shorter – and it represents the first proper opportunity for students to get to grips with historiography, the study of history and how it changes over time. I might have been tempted to study the rise of Prussia/Germany between 1815-1914, with one question uppermost: Why did Germany’s leaders risk war in pursuit of European hegemony in 1914 when they could have achieved the same result – through economic dominance – without firing a shot? *To meet the new requirement that students study at least 200 years of history, students would also need to use the Historical Investigation component to meet this requirement. The topic studied would need to start before 1764. AQA has produced an online tool to help teachers check their topic choices meet these requirements. AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. 2 of 3 Related breadth studies • 1G Challenge and Transformation: Britain, c1851–1964 • 1H Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1855-1964 • 1J The British Empire, c1857-1967 • 1K The Making of a Superpower: USA, 1865-1975 • 1L The Quest for Political Stability: Germany, 1871-1991 Related depth studies • 2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890-1941 • 2L Italy and Fascism, c1900-1945 • 2M Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition, 1906-1957 • 2N Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia, 1917-1953 AQA Education (AQA) is a registered charity (number 1073334) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX. 3 of 3