A Level Government & Politics OCR The course will allow you to develop a critical awareness of current affairs and political knowledge. It is a well-respected and influential academic course, valuable not only as a qualification, but as part of a wider education. No prior study of Politics is required, though you should have an interest in, and opinions on, current affairs. The first unit, ‘People and Politics’, will introduce you to what Politics is, examining the UK's political parties and pressure groups, investigating elections and the nature of - and controversies over - our democracy. The second unit, ‘Governing the UK’, introduces you to the way in which the country is run by developing a critical understanding of the role of parliament, the law and the constitution. In your second year of Sixth Form, you will build on this to study the way in which US politics does – and doesn’t – work. Looking at recent elections and debates in the USA, you will examine Barack Obama’s successes and failures, explain the importance of ethnicity in US politics and look at the role of money in elections. You will simultaneously study some of the most important issues affecting us all as global citizens and weigh up the dangers to modern society caused by terrorism, nuclear weapons and climate change. Students who have recently studied Government & Politics have been successful in gaining places on degree courses such as Politics, History, PPE and Law at universities such as Cambridge, Kings College London and Bristol. Government & Politics is studied alongside a variety of other A-Level courses including History, Sociology, Economics and English.   As a student of Government & Politics will learn about, and engage in, political debates and study how decisions are made within the British, US and international frameworks. Students take four modules across the Sixth Form. There is a trip to the UK Parliament and you will be encouraged to attend masterclasses; the department has also run trips to Brussels and Washington DC.  Year 12 Unit 1: People and Politics - What is Politics? Why does it matter? Power, Authority, Government, Democracy, Participation, Ideologies, Parties, Elections, Pressure groups. Unit 2: Governing the UK - Constitutions, Parliament, Prime Minister, Cabinet, Judges, Laws, Rights Year 13 Unit 3: Representative Processes in the USA - Elections, Voting, Parties, Pressure Groups, Racial and Ethnic Politics Unit 4: Global Political Issues - Conflict and War, Terrorism and WMDs, Poverty and Development, Environmentalism and Sustainability, Human Rights and International Law