GCSE History

Paper 1: Thematic study and historic environment

30% of the qualification

Content overview

Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches.

Assessment overview

Section A: historic environment: Students answer a question that assesses knowledge plus a two-part question based on two provided sources.

Section B: thematic study: Students answer three questions that assess their knowledge and understanding. The first two questions are compulsory. For the third question, students answer one from a choice of
two.

Written examination:

1 hour and 15 minutes

52 marks (16 for the historic environment, 36 for the thematic study)

Paper 2: Period study and British depth study

40% of the qualification

Content overview

Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88.

Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941–91

Assessment overview

Booklet P Period study: Students answer three questions that assess their knowledge and understanding. The first two questions are compulsory. For the third question, students select two out of three parts.

Booklet B British depth study: Students answer a single three-part question that assesses their knowledge and understanding. The first two parts are compulsory. For the third part, students select one from a choice of two.

Written examination:

1 hour and 45 minutes

64 marks (32 for the period study and 32 for the British depth study)

Paper 3: Modern depth study

30% of the qualification

Content overview

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39

Assessment overview

Section A: Students answer a question based on a provided source and a question that assesses their knowledge and understanding.
Section B: Students answer a single four-part question, based on two provided sources and two provided interpretations.

Written examination:

1 hour and 20 minutes (52 marks)