Politics at Holy Cross provides lots of enrichment activities for its students. We are regularly visited by Aberystwyth and Salford Universities who provide lessons and talks on courses for our students. We hold regular Q&A sessions with both Bury MPs, and have recently been visited by former student Lisa Nandy, and high-profile MPs such as Jess Phillips. We have been visited by news reporters from ITV, who interviewed our students for national news programs. We also ran a mock election to coincide with the 2019 general election, where students debated, filmed advertisements, and stood as candidates for a college election, something we will do when another election happens. We also run a trip to Westminster, where we listen to MPs, such as previous speaker Jacob-Rees Mogg and can ask them questions.
The syllabus includes three sections, one on British politics, one on American politics and one on political ideologies.
In the first year students will study British politics and topics will include the constitution, judiciary, Parliament, the Prime Minister and Cabinet as well as elections, voting behaviour and pressure groups.
In the second year of the course students will study political ideologies including conservatism, liberalism and socialism as well as US Politics, including US elections and voting behaviour, US political parties and pressure groups, the US constitution, executive, legislature and judiciary.
If you decide to pursue this subject at university, you don't just have to aim to be an MP if you graduate in Politics. Otherwise, your job prospects would not be high.
There are several career paths for you to follow. Particular job areas include the civil service, social research, PA, consultancy work, charity work, human resources, local government, market research and sales, journalism, and PR. Several professional organisations offer specialised positions for Politics graduates, such as Macmillan.
You’ll sit a series of examinations at the end of your second year.
Factfile
Level: A Level
Politics is an increasingly popular subject, being highly relevant to modern life. Our course covers both British and American politics, giving you a strong grounding in this fascinating subject.
Politics has enjoyed a high degree of academic success in recent years and an increasing number of students are continuing their politics studies at university.
Examining Board: AQA
Entry Requirements:
General College entry requirements.
GCSE English at grade 4 or above. An active interest in current affairs.
Great subjects to partner A Level Politics:
Business Studies, Economics, English, History, Law, Media Studies and Sociology all partner well with our subject and offer flexible options should you be pursuing this or other subjects at university.
To discuss whether this course is for you, please get in touch.
Contact: Mr P Barrow
Email: PAB@holycross.ac.uk