Ratcliffe College - Sixth Form Handbook

HISTORY
Why choose History?
History can give you the skills that
most employers want – whichever
job you have in mind. Through the
study of History, you will learn
about people, their motivations,
and how societies develop and
work. History teaches you to think
in a combination of ways not found
in any other subject.
Historians and students of History
have to use sources as evidence to
answer questions about the way
people behaved, thought and felt
in the past, and make judgements
about human nature and
behaviour.
You will develop a valuable and
necessary skill: that of being able
to write a report, or essay, which
is concise, relevant, supported
by evidence and which clearly
addresses the question set. In
doing so, you will develop an
independent mind; in this sense,
History is a good subject for
everyone to study.
Related Subjects
Subjects that will help compliment
studies in History and will be
benefited by your study in History
include; English, Geography and
Religious Studies.
Course Requirements
Those of you wishing to study
History at A Level should have
a minimum of 6 GCSE passes at
grade 6 or above, including History
and English Literature or English
Language.
We would expect students to be
able to work well independently
and be willing to do plenty of
reading outside of the classroom.
The key skills required are:
• Thorough investigative and research
skills.
• The ability to analyse and interpret
information.
• Good communication skills.
• An interest in human behaviour, culture
and society.
• An enquiring mind.
History is particularly good
training for administration, and
large numbers of History graduates
go on to posts in management
requiring leadership; in fact 30% of
History graduates go on to postgraduate
study (nearly double
that of the average across other
subjects).
No one should let concerns about
employment prospects convince
them that History should be
given up In fact, it is the breadth
of its relevance and the variety
of the skills which it encourages
that make it such a good basis
for employment in the rapidly
changing world of career patterns,
where employers often prefer
people with a wide range of skills.
Higher Education and Careers
Options
History at A Level is useful for
entry onto more than just History
degree courses. It is useful for
English, Media, Journalism, Law
and Politics related subjects, and
studies involving people such
as Social Policy, Tourism and
Business Studies. It is also useful
for Environmental Studies, Banking
and Accountancy, Publishing and
Administrative Courses.
Many of the top radio and
TV presenters and managers
(including sports!) are History
graduates, as well as politicians,
writers, journalists and lawyers.
It may surprise you to learn that
Historians provide more directors
of Britain’s leading companies
in proportion to the number of
graduates than any other subject,
out-performing law, science and
engineering. Examples include
Lord Sainsbury, Charles Miller
Smith of ICI and Sir Bob Reid.
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