The CCEA GCSE History specification provides opportunities to study Hitler’s dictatorship, the USA in the Roaring Twenties, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Northern Ireland’s civil unrest, or the USA’s response to 9/11.

Students consider the relevance of the past and gain a deeper understanding of the present. They learn to balance factual content with developing conceptual understanding and historical skills.

Students analyse and evaluate historical sources, appreciating there are competing interpretations of the past.

Students develop transferable skills useful for further study and in the workplace. These include researching and organising information, analysing and weighing up evidence, and developing a coherent argument.

This qualification builds on the knowledge, understanding and skills developed through the Environment and Society Area of Learning.

This specification is unitised, so it’s possible to take part of the assessment at the end of the first year of study.

The specification has two units:

• Unit 1: Section A: Modern World Studies in Depth and Section B: Local Study
• Unit 2: Outline Study International Relations, 1945–2003.