Ancient History

Exam Board:OCR

What is the course about?
This course has been designed to complement our A level course in Classical Civilisation. It offers students the opportunity to acquire the skills needed by an historian through the study of Greek and Roman history. You will study significant events, individuals and issues from a range of historical perspectives, looking at the diversity of Greek and Roman society, and the changes that took place over these periods. It will give you the opportunity to study the work of historians who shaped the western tradition of the writing of history.
For the AS level you will study:
Unit One: Cicero and political life in late Republican Rome. This unit focuses on the Republican Government of ancient Rome which lasted for half a millennium and was carefully designed to limit the power held by one individual. You will investigate the disintegration of Roman society as you trace the political career of Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Unit Two: Politics and society in Ancient Sparta. This unit focuses on the insular and idiosyncratic city-state of Sparta who spurned the intellectual and artistic pursuits of the other Greek poleis. The Spartans held fast to a grisly ideal: the creation and maintenance of the most formidable fighting force in the entire ancient Greek world. By using a wide range of historical and literary sources, this unit aims to ascertain how accurate a representation of Spartan society this myth really was.
How is the course assessed?
Students take two exam papers of 1 hour 30 minutes each with two questions on each paper.
Greek History from original sources: This paper is worth 50% of your AS grade and is marked out of 100.
Section A: is a commentary question (55 marks)
Section B: is an essay question (45 marks)
Roman History from original sources: This paper is worth 50% of your AS grade and is marked out of 100.
Section A: Commentary question (55 marks)
Section B: is an essay question (45 marks)
What skills will I need and develop in this course?
AS Ancient History will offer you a disciplined study of history and give you access to a wide range of interesting sources, allowing you to analyse and interpret key historical events and personalities. It will develop your skills in presenting a concise and logical argument and introduce you to some of the exciting and significant periods in Greek and Roman History. If you are interested in History, Archaeology, Politics, Philosophy and Literature this course will give you the opportunity to use and explore those areas in more depth.
Subject Combination advice:
The study of Ancient History valuably complements the study of Classical Civilisation. There are a wide range of university courses in Ancient History and Classical Civilisation many of them combining the study of both these disciplines. It would also complement a course in History where the skills required are similar but the period is different. Students studying English Literature, Politics or Philosophy would enjoy the course. Students studying Mathematics and sciences might like to take this course as a fourth option to provide breadth.
What are the formal entry requirements for the course?
Aside from the general college entrance requirements, you will also need a C grade in English Language at GCSE.
What extra support / enrichment activites are on offer?
As part of the Classical Civilisation Department, students studying Ancient History will be included in our enrichment programme. We already run trips yearly to Greece for our students and there are plenty of lectures and visits that take place over the course of the year.