Government & Politics -
What skills and knowledge are needed to succeed?

The most important requirement is that you are interested in the political world today. If the mention of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Ming Campbell makes you reach for the cocoa, then this is not the course for you! However, if you do want to know more about who governs, what, where and why then you will be in for an enjoyable and rewarding year. Students will need to refer to political sources, for example reading a quality newspaper on a regular basis, watching and listening to some of the many current affairs programmes on the television and radio. The syllabus stipulates that current media illustrations on Politics are just as important as textbooks. The great advantage of the Politics 'AS' and 'A' Levels are that these skills are developed against the background of current events.