Politics

Intent:

Our ambition is to help our students make sense of the world around them, we will challenge them to be curious, ask questions and ensure that they acquire the skills required to navigate the vast amount of information available in our modern society. Our curriculum is highly relevant, contemporary and perfectly blended with the international ethos of the school. The key concepts of power, sovereignty, legitimacy, interdependence, human rights, justice, liberty, equality, inequality, globalisation, sustainability, peace, conflict, violence and non-violence underpin teaching and learning in both A-Level and IB Politics courses. These concepts will be applied at different levels of analysis throughout the courses: local, regional, national and international.

Implementation:

We have two engaging and exciting programmes of study in the A-Level and IB Standard courses. There is plenty of opportunity to acquire essential national and international political knowledge as well as the challenges of developing an in-depth knowledge and understanding of both national and international political process and systems. Students will frequently encounter a range of challenging source materials sharpening awareness of interpretation and perspective, they will be challenged to link their theoretical knowledge of political processes and systems to real world, up to the minute contemporary examples.

Our teaching will encourage the development and refinement of key evaluative and analytical skills; acquiring knowledge, developing an argument, extended writing, evaluating sources and recognition of how, where and why opinions about politics and political issues differ. These skills will provide the foundation for all future learning and continued interest in the political world.

Impact:

Students will have secure theoretical knowledge; they will be able to explain how contemporary political issues fit into this theory and will be inspired and be equipped with the skills to develop their own case study knowledge from around the world. They will be confident in their evaluation of sources of information and will be able to explain and local political perspective and philosophy within different sources. They will have the confidence to develop and sustain an argument about a political issue both orally and through essay writing skills. There will be opportunities to engage in real word politics, for example through local mock parliament, community lectures, hustings, visits to Westminster and Geneva. Our politics students will leave our classrooms as well-informed citizens equipped to make their own political decisions and choices.