'Politics is interested in you, even if you are not interested in politics' - Pericles

The Government and Politics department teaches students about the relationship between political ideas and political institutions. It also gives them a good grasp of the nature of politics and political ideas in the UK with comparisons to the political systems of other countries.

A Level Government and Politics is an academically rigorous subject providing students with the key skills of analysis and investigation relevant to any future choice of career. They learn how to present a well turned argument, orally and on paper, and how to defend their point of view.

AS and A Level

We follow the Edexcel specification.

At AS we offer two examined units:

Unit 1: People and Politics - this introduces the principles behind politics; what is democracy and citizenship? The course examines the reasons for and the workings of the political process in the UK.

Unit 2: Governing the UK - this introduces the major institutions of UK Government and looks at their relationship to each other and to the European Union.

At A2 (from 2012) we offer two examined units:

Unit 3: Representative Processes in the USA - this topic looks at representative processes of the US political system and considers their adequacy in terms of popular participation and full democracy.

Unit 4: Governing the USA - this examines the institutional framework of US Government and considers the interrelationships between its legislative, executive and judicial processes and the health of US federalism.

Extension activities

The course is supplemented by visits to the Houses of Parliament and talks from visiting political commentators, such as Lord Norton of Louth and Justine Greening MP.

This year we are also taking students to a politics conference where they will hear a range of high profile MPs, from John Bercow MP to Tony Benn. Girls are encouraged to participate in the Model United Nations competition and the BBC School's Question Time competition.