Download A-level History - First World War

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
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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.
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England and Wales (number 3644723). Our registered address is AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.
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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.
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