Government & Politics
Staff
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Mrs P. O’Hare (Head of Department)
Post 16
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Politics is a literary and discursive subject. It is lively, interesting and very topical. It involves building up knowledge of current affairs and keeping up to date with contemporary political developments world-wide.
Students of ‘A’ level Politics become well informed on the factors which influence “the decision makers”, and about what is going on in the world around them.
Politics students enjoy and, through their study of this subject, are given the opportunity to read, argue, write essays, weigh up evidence, debate, analyse documents, and watch and understand the news and other political programmes. Studying Politics will help you to improve your aptitude in these areas.
Politics complements other ‘A’ level subjects such as History, Sociology, English, Geography, Business Studies, R.E and Languages. It is particularly useful for students considering careers in law, journalism, teaching, research, the media, the civil service, or local and central government.
Course Content & Examination Arrangements
Here in Our Lady & St. Patrick’s College we follow the Northern Ireland CCEA specification for Government and Politics. The course is divided into four modules. At the end of Lower VI students sit external examinations for their two A/S modules. They are as follows:
AS 1 The Government and Politics of N. Ireland: 40%
Exam 1 hour 15 minutes; One source to read & three questions.
AS 2 The British Political Process: 60%
Exam 1 hour 45 minutes; five questions comprising of short-answer and longer discursive questions.
Students proceeding to ‘A’ Level will sit examinations in a further two modules at the end of Upper VI:
A2 1 Comparative Government – The United Kingdom & the USA: 60%
Exam 2 hours 15 minutes; one source to read & five questions.
A2 2 Political Power: 40%
Exam 1 hour 30 minutes; one source to read & three questions.
There is no coursework component.