Paper 1: Thematic study and historic environment

Paper 2: Period study and British depth study

Students take one of the following options:

● Crime and punishment in Britain, c1000–present and Whitechapel, c1870–c1900: crime, policing, and the inner city.

● Medicine in Britain, c1250–present

and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the

trenches.

● Warfare and British society, c1250–present

and London and the Second World War, 1939–45.

Students take one of the following British depth study options:

● Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88

● The reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216

● Henry VIII and his ministers, 1509–40

● Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88.

Students also take one of the following period study options:

● Spain and the ‘New World’, c1490–c1555

● British America, 1713–83: empire and revolution ● The American West, c1835–c1895

● Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941–91 ● Conflict in the Middle East, 1945–95.

How it’s assessed:

•   Written exam: 1 hour 15 minutes
•   52 marks
•   30% of GCSE

How it’s assessed:

•   Written exam: 1 hour 45 minutes
•   64 marks
•   40% of GCSE

Paper 3 – Modern depth study

Students take one of the following modern depth studies:

● Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–41

● Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39

● Mao’s China, 1945–76

● The USA, 1954–75: conflict at home and abroad.

How it’s assessed:

•   Written exam: 1 hour 20 minutes
•   52 marks
•   30% of GCSE