Higher History

Students will undertake learning which allows them to answer two exam papers. 

Paper 1

This includes a British period of study and a European and World and is an essay based paper.         Students answer one Essay question from each section. 

Each Essay is worth 22 marks with the Paper One total being 44 marks.  

Our British essay topics are:

1) An evaluation of why Britain became more democratic.

2) An assessment of how democratic Britain became, 1867–1928.

3) An evaluation of the reasons why some women were given the vote in 1918 

4) An evaluation of the reasons why the Liberals introduced social welfare reforms, 1906–14 

Our European and World essay topics are:

1) An evaluation of the reasons for changing attitudes towards immigration in the 1920s

2) An evaluation of the obstacles to the achievement of civil rights for black people, up to 1941

3) An evaluation of the reasons for the economic crisis of 1929–33 

4) An evaluation of the reasons for the development of the Civil Rights campaign, after 1945 

Paper 2  - Scotland - Act of Union

This course covers the time period 1689-1740 when the Scots & English Governments voted in 1706 to close their individual parliaments and become One country - The United Kingdom, with one Parliament based in London. We study the Religious, Political & Social reasons preceding Union and analyse how relations worsened between Scotland and England at this time with the concurrent national discussion in Scotland including both arguments for and against Union with England. We then look at how and why Union was ultimately passed and what effects this new Union actually had on Scotland up to 1740. 

Section 1 - Worsening Relations between Scotland & England                                                                                   Section 2 - Arguments for & against Union                                                                                                                     Section 3 - The reasons Union was passed in 1707                                                                                                      Section 4 - The Effects of Union to 1740 

There are 4 Scottish Exam Skills which develop on their previous skills learning. The Source Skills in Paper 2 is worth 36 marks.

Extended Response - 30 marks

This is the SQA Coursework element - where students pick, research & learn an extended response essay question which is then written up (over 90 minutes) with a 250 word support sheet under Exam Conditions.

Supporting your child

Please support your child ensure they are completing each essay by the deadlines set on the classroom. This will help them to keep on top of their studies and avoid confusing what content fits each essay question. The same applies for the Scottish sections home & class-work. They will need a lever arch folder with dividers. They should keep each paper 1 essay separate. They should also keep their notes and handouts for paper 2 separate to paper 1. 

Keeping organised will make studying for both papers in the final exam much easier.

Advanced Higher History

One overall topic for A/Higher History -  Our choice/option is 'A House Divided - The American Civil War' 

We focus on American Society from 1850 - 1865 - the period leading up to and during the American Civil War. We analyse ante-bellum American society and explore the tensions, causes and nature of this war. 

We also look at the issues of Slavery, Westward Expansion, States Rights, the break up of existing political parties, the rise of the Republicans and the idea of there being two America's who shared certain socio-cultural traits but were in fact two very different peoples & countries. The Home front and Foreign Diplomatic efforts are also studied to give an overview of what life was like for civilian Americans on both sides and look at the efforts made by Southern & Northern diplomats to get support for their respective countries from the older European powers such as Britain, France & Spain etc. 

We also study the Political, Social and Economic outcomes of the war focusing on the themes of conflict, rights, identity & authority. Finally there is an in-depth study of the changing military leadership, strategies & campaigns during the 4 years of actual conflict which concludes with Lee's Surrender at Appomattox.   

Skills & Marks                                                                                                                                                                                                 The final exam is out of 90 marks - Two 25 mark Essays and Three Source questions (12, 12, 16) worth    40 marks. These essay & source skills are built upon students knowledge of these skills which they learned at Higher level which we then  develop further adding more detail for each awarded mark/s.  

There is also a research dissertation worth 50 marks where the students pick, research and write up a   4000 word Dissertation which is sent to SQA for marking and added to the final exam for the overall grade. 

There is a huge focus on independent research & learning throughout the Advanced Higher Course and       an expectation that a lot of the work will be done out-with set teaching time (Homework)