08/02/2019
Mocks and the Long Run
Many of my tutees are currently either in the midst of mock exams or are taking stock of results. The question is frequently put as to what books should be sought to aid revision. The market is flooded with revision guides, but my advice remains that of a traditionalist. For GCSE History, the exam board publications are perfectly adequate. However, I remain an ardent advocate of the Palgrave Master Series of History text books. Probably too advanced for GCSE, but certainly also unsuitable for anything beyond a basic post-16 introduction, these books are great for creating a solid historical foundation. Combined with good video material (the World at War, Ken Burns documentaries, the Channel 4 series on the First World War and Schama and Starkey on the Tudors), these books will give great knowledge and confidence to a GCSE student.
My attitude to A Level differs. I have little time for the exam board-sponsored text books. They are written to very tight deadlines, often by teachers with too little time for writing. They contain sometimes grave errors of interpretation that all too often suggest the authors have not read the books cited in their "suggestions for reading" - they tend not to have scholarly bibliographies. The time for A Level reading is from the moment a student begins their course. The Short Oxford History of the Modern World series is excellent for History students. Also look at specific articles in the sixth form History magazines that any self-respecting school or college sixth form library should hold. The panic-stricken should look at the "Access to History" series from Hodder and Staughton - now Hodder Education. Reading for A Level History is a long, evolutionary process that should eventually take students to undergraduate level, academic texts. Students should aim high. If a student has read nothing by February of second year, then Hodder and articles is the way to go. A well-prepared student should be reading the more demanding texts by this stage (John Guy on the Tudors, for example). Working with students to decode texts and to read actively is an essential part of A Level teaching. Of course exam board text will teach you what the chief examiner wants you to know, but it will not teach you History. For that, you will have to go to proper History books written by real historians...
The most important element of revision is past papers and it would be refreshing to see all boards providing easy, ready access to these for students, parents and all teachers. Past papers, mark schemes and examiners' reports are all essential tools for success in the summer.
Equally important is that teachers remain on top of their subject knowledge and reading. An integral part of my preparation is keeping up-to-date with debates in the subject. This fires students' enthusiasm and gives them great raw material for university interviews. Besides, as a subject specialist, how could I not take an interest in continuing developments in my subject area?
In an age when trends in education seem to be pushing teachers at many levels toward providing supermarket or cafeteria quality courses for their students, there is still scope for a rearguard action that resolutely determines to maintain academic integrity in A Level study. The short-cut and the easy ride should not be the preferred option.
