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Government and Politics.
Head of Faculty: Mrs Angela Pollard
Head of Subject: Mr Stuart Baker
Government and Politics is an exciting, fast moving and rewarding subject to study at BMS. It is a very popular subject at AS/A2 with over 40 students. The department is noted for the excellent results (2009 – 92% A/B grades at A2) and the extensive trips programme which includes visits to London, Edinburgh and Washington DC. The department also attends the European Youth Parliament at Oxford University each year. The subject is taught in a room which has access to Laptops/ICT to allow students to extend their study. We run many events at school such as the recent 2010 Elections which allowed student to learn campaigning and presentation skills. In Year 12, students focus on British Politics and in Year 13 we focus on US Politics. This is a subject for you if you are interested in current affairs and enjoy debate and discussion. Also a subject which is seen as academically challenging and can lead to a variety of University courses.
We follow the Edexcel Government and Politics specification. This allows students to study UK Politics in Year 12, looking at topics such as Parliament, PM and Cabinet, Parties and Pressure Groups. To enable students to gain top grades the department has an extensive extra curricular activities programme of trips, lectures and meetings. In 2009/10 students had an opportunity to listen to and meet David Cameron, Nick Clegg and local MPs. To extend their learning we also took the students to Westminster to hear other politicians and visit the new UK Supreme Court. We also have a specific Politics website which has many resources to use. At A2 students study American Politics. They learn about the President, Congress and US political parties. Also, controversial topics such as Race and Ethnic policies. Each year we take students to hear US politicians in the UK at the Eccles Centre. We have also built a strong relationship with Universities and the US Embassy and have received many visiting speakers. In 2010 we started an annual trip to Washington DC.
