Look up the specification online:
http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/UA024847%20GCE%20in%20History%20Iss%202%20210510.pdf
You will be studying Unit 1, options E1 and E3. Unit 2 option B1. Print out a copy of the course outline and the information on how it will be assessed and bring these to your first lesson.

Textbooks to read over the summer
You will be given access to these in class (although many students like to buy and annotate the texts). Read the first chapter of each to get an understanding of what it is you are studying.
• The Unification of Italy – Andrina Stiles
• Edexcel GCE History - AS Britain, 1830-85: Representation and Reform: Unit 2 Option B1 – Martin Collier
•
Websites: Look up anything you are unsure of from your initial reading.
• www.schoolhistory.co.uk
• www.historyhome.co.uk
• library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312582/unification.html
• www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk

Films (for understanding of parliament and Mussolini’s Italy)
• Amazing Grace
• Tea with Mussolini

People to research (create a profile on each of them – aims, successes and failures).
• Cavour
• Garibaldi
• Metternich
• Benjamin Disraeli
• William Gladstone

Recommended reads
• Modern History Review (lots of articles in library)

Key words to research
• Act of parliament, Bill, constituency, democracy, electorate, franchise, House of Commons, House of Lords, MP, PM, Reform, rotten borough, secret ballot, suffrage, suffragettes, Tories, turning point, Whigs.
• Annexation, Carbonari, Congress of Vienna, middle-class, monarch, nationalism, revolution, Risorgimento, unified.

RS

Look up the specification online:

Textbooks to read over the summer
You will be given access to these in class (although many students like to buy and annotate the texts). Read the first chapter of each to get an understanding of what it is you are studying.
• OCR Philosophy of Religion AS and A2 2nd (or 3rd) edition edited by Jon Mayled
Websites: Look up anything you are unsure of from your initial reading.
• Philosophy Bites- An absolutely brilliant selection of Podcasts in which experts explain important philosophical ideas. Dip in and out of these.
• Search for ‘In our time’ on BBC iplayer. These are radio productions usually with presenter Melvin Bragg focusing on an important subject. If you can find it listen to the episode about the painting ‘the school of athens’.

Films and documentaries.
• The Matrix relates well to ‘Plato’s Cave’ but it is a little clichéd!
• The Truman Show: Does the lead character live in an artificial reality?
• Many of Richard Dawkins Documentaries are excellent; he provides a polemical
prod at religious belief! ‘The Enemies of Reason’ is a great place to start.
• Pinocchio: Is it possible to be made ‘perfect’?

People to research (what were their philosophical views, when were they thinking?).
• Plato
• Socrates
• Aristotle
• Thomas Aquinas
• William Paley
• Charles Darwin
• David Hume
Recommended reads
• R.S Review (lots of articles in library- aim for the philosophy articles)
• Sophie’s World- (an introduction into the history of philosophy through the eyes of a young
girl).
• ‘Would a Pig eat itself’? By Jullian Baggini. This is a brilliant book to get you thinking philosophically. It presents a series of deep and challenging ‘thought experiements’
• Plato- the republic. This might present a bit of a challenge, if you are going to undertake this
I recommend using an online study guide to help you get to the bottom of his thought.

Key words to research
• Metaphysics, Empiricist, Theology, Atheist, Theist, Telos (Greek word), Platonic, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Malevolent, Logic, Necessary, Contingent, transcendent.

There is some challenging stuff here. Do not be worried if you find it a bit ‘out there’. Philosophy challenges you think about the world in a new way. Hopefully some of these will get you thinking.

Geography

Textbooks
• AS Geography AQA Nelson Thornes 2008
• AS Geography AQA Phillip Allen 2008
Websites
• www.peopleandplaqnet.org.uk
• www.un.org
• www.environment-agency.gov.uk
• www.metoffice.com
Films
• Supersize me
• Hotel Rwanda
• Inconvenient Truth
• Day after tomorrow
• Flood
People to research
• Thomas Malthus
• Bradshaw
• Esther Boserup
Recommended reads
• The Geographical Review – library
• Focus
• National Geographic
• Geographical Magazine
Key words to research
• Death rate, birth rate, infant mortality, natural increase, population structure, demographic transition model, dependence ratio & genocide.
• Fluvial, hydrograph, base flow, storm flow, cross sectional area, sinuosity, isostatic and eustatic.

Psychology

Unit 1: Memory, Social Influence, Attachment
Check out ALL the sites and familiarise yourself with the key studies in Psychology
that you will cover in the first year of study. And don’t forget – ENJOY! ☺
____________________________________________________________________
MEMORY
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/eyewitness - complete activities on
eyewitness testimony
http://www.open2.net/eyewitness/index.html - lots of interactive activities that will
help your understanding of eyewitness testimony
http://www.psychology4all.com/FiveMemoryTechniques.htm - will need to know
these for the exam – useful to get familiar now ☺
SOCIAL INFLUENCE
http://www.prisonexp.org/ - key study by Professor Philip Zimbardo on how people
can become evil
http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/11/10-piercing-insights-into-human-nature.php - 10
key studies to be covered in Social Influence topic – very useful to read through!
ATTACHMENT
http://www.integratedsociopsychology.net/genie.html - a key study about Genie (13
year old girl who grew up in total isolation) – read and check all the clips!

____________________________________________________________________
EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE!
http://www2.qeliz.ac.uk/psychology - ALL MOST IMPORTANT STUDIES FOR
AS PSYCHOLOGY ☺
http://www.simplypsychology.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk – read “Studies in Psychology”
part – WE WILL LEARN ALL THESE STUDIES ☺

Sociology

Unit 1: Families and Households
Unit 2: Education and Research Methods
A GOOD PLACE TO START
http://sixthsense.osfc.ac.uk/sociology/ - covers all main themes of AS Sociology –
very important to get yourself familiar with key approaches and topics!
http://www.sociology.org.uk/as4aqa.htm - excellent website covering key topics in
Family, Education and Research Methods areas – this will give you a flavour of
what exams will cover in January and June.
WORK OVER THE SUMMER BREAK
To prepare well for the first Unit: Families and Households you need to carry out
research into your own family history.
Produce a document including:
- Your family tree, starting with your grand-grandparents and extending to your
cousins and their children (if appropriate);
- Don’t forget to include and label (if appropriate) ALL family members, even if
there were divorces, separations or deaths;
- Do NOT use actual names, rather name relatives as Auntie No.1, Auntie No.2
etc.;
- Include the occupations and nationalities (or places of origin) of ALL your family
members;
- To make your life easier, you can use http://www.familytreetemplates.net for
family tree templates ☺
I hope you will enjoy “digging” into your family history!
We will use your family tree in lessons, so it is important that you have this
work completed before you start AS Sociology!

Business Studies

Textbooks
• Foden S, Mansell D and Stimpson P (2008), AQA AS Business Studies, Nelson Thornes
Websites
• http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/business/business_noticeboard.php?id=05&prev=05
TV Programmes
• Dragons Den, BBC
• The Business Inspector, Channel Five
• The Apprentice, BBC
People to research
• Richard Branson
• Lord Alan Sugar
Recommended reads
• Bannatyne, D (2007) Anyone can do it: my story, Orion Publishing
Places to visit
• Museum of Brands, London
• Make it in Great Britain exhibition, Science Museum, London
Key words to research
• Starting a business – enterprise, franchise, trademark, copyright, patent
• Financial planning – cash flow, revenue, profit, fixed costs, variable costs

Business BTEC L3

Textbooks
• Bevan J, Dransfield R, Coupland-Smith H, Goymer J and Richards C (2009), BTEC Level 3 National Business Student Book 1, Pearson
• Bevan J, Goymer J, Richards C and Richards N (2009), BTEC Level 3 National Business Student Book 2, Pearson
Websites
• http://www.edexcel.com/quals/nationals10/business/Pages/default.aspx
TV Programmes
• The Apprentice, BBC
• Mary Queen of Shops, BBC
• The Business Inspector, Channel Five
People/ Companies to research
• Marks and Spencer
• Tesco
Recommended reads
• Jewell B(2000), An Integrated Approach to Business Studies, Longman
• Palmer and Hartley (2006) The Business Environment, McGraw-Hill
• Business articles from local and national newspapers
Places to visit
• Museum of Brands, London
• Made in Great Britain exhibition, Science Museum, London
Key words to research
• Business purpose, ownership, stakeholder, functional area and organisation structure.

Travel and tourism BTEC L3

Textbooks
• Dale G (2010), BTEC Level 3 National Travel and Tourism Student Book 1, Pearson
Websites
• http://www.edexcel.com/quals/nationals10/travel/Pages/default.aspx
TV Programmes
• The Lakes, ITV
• The Hotel Inspector, Channel 5
• Airport, BBC
People/ Companies to research
• British Airways
• TUI
Recommended reads
• Holloway C (2006), The Business of Tourism, Seventh Edition , FT Prentice Hall
• Travel Weekly Magazine
Places to visit
• Local visitor attractions
• One World Exhibition, Olympia, London July 2012
Key words to research
• Domestic tourism, inbound tourism, outbound tourism, trend, factor

Health and Social Care

Textbooks

Burnard P. Communicate (1992) Edward Arnold
Acquiring Interpersonal Skills (2nd Edition) Burnard P. (1996), Chapman and Hall
AS Level for OCR Health and Social Care, Moonie N. (series editor) (2005), Heinemann
Communicate and language: A Handbook of Theory and Practice, Thompson N. (2003), Macmillian
Development and Sequences in Small groups, Tuckeman BW (1965), Psychological Bulletin 63, No.6

Websites

Braille: www.brailleeplus.net
Statistics and Definition: IRR News, www.irr.org.uk/statistics
The General social care council (2005), Codes of practice and FAQS (online), available from: www.gscc.org.uk
Makaton: www.makaton.org.uk/docs/informationforparentsandcarers-A5 greed.pdf
NHS: www.nhs

Organisations

Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB)
Royal National Institute for the deaf (RNID)
The Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf people

Key words to research

Body language
Diversity
Code of Conduct
Self-image

Biology

Textbooks
• Toole & Toole (2008) AQA Biology for AS, Nelson Thornes, Cheltenham. ISBN: 978-0-7487-8275-8

Websites
• http://www.aqa.org.uk/students-and-parents.php
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/asguru/index.shtml
• http://www.biologyguide.net/

Recommended reads
• Head Start to AS Biology, CGP Publishing.
ISBN: 978-1-84762-117-7

Key words to research
• How Science Works – key word glossary.
• Core and Additional Science – Read through GCSE notes (B1a, B1b and B2).

People to research
• Watson, Crick & Franklin – Structure of DNA.

Chemistry

Textbooks
• Chemical Storylines OCR
• ISBN: 978 0 435631 47 5
• Chemical Ideas OCR
• ISBN: 978 0 435631 49 9
Websites
• http://www.4college.co.uk/
• http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/type/l_gce/chemistry/chemistry_salters/documents/
• www.thestudentroom.co.uk

Recommended reads
• Head Start to AS Chemistry.
ISBN: 1 84146 520 8

Recommended actions
• Download past papers
• Organise an A4 lever arch folder with dividers.
• Download past papers and look at the course content from the OCR website.

Physics

School Textbook
• OCR advancing Physics A2

You might also like to read
• Introducing Quantum Theory' By J.P. McEvop and Oscar Zarate
• The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
• The Universe In A Single Atom by His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Your course next year will cover the following topics
The Clockwork Universe – models and rules and matter in extremes and
Field and particle pictures – fields and fundamental particles

Key words to research
Lepton, Hadron, Neutrino, Moment, Laser, weak & strong nuclear force, Doppler shift, red shift, Boltzman distribution, cyclotron, simple harmonic motion, resonance radar.

People to research – what was their contribution to physics, either theories or Laws
Kepler, Newton, Hubble, Boyle, Boltzman, Faraday, Milikan, Bertozzi, Coulomb, Rutherford, Marsden, Feynman, de Broglie, Dirac, Huygens.

Maths

awaiting data

German

Websites

1. http://de.yahoo.com/

Visit this website twice a week and, using a dictionary, read the news headlines. Choose two articles of interest (sport/ environment/ technology/ health/ politics/ celebrities) and read them. Then write down ten new words which you have learnt in German and in English.

2. http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/de/

Write down 10-20 geographical/ historical/ political facts about Germany.

3. http://www.tageschau.de/

Watch the news in German under “Aktuelle Nachrichten”.

Films

Ask ROB to borrow a DVD to familiarise yourself with listening to longer passages of German.

Novels

If you would like to borrow a simple novel such as “Das Austauschkind” ask ROB or KLS.

Magazines

Ask ROB or KLS for a back number of “Authentik” to read articles with exercises.

Music

Go to www.goethe.de/popkultur to listen to some German bands.

Visits (optional)

Save up to go on the German Exchange next academic year (approx. £370). This is the best way to improve your fluency in German and boost your A-level grade.

French

Websites
For keeping up-to-date with what’s happening in France:
• www.lesclesjunior.com or www.yahoo.fr – Actualités (articles)
Summarize 6+ articles, 4 in English & 2 in French
• http:/sites.radiofrance.fr – for online discussions
For listening to French music online – keep a weekly log of what you’ve listened to & what you liked:
• www.yahoo.fr – Musique; www.musique.ados.fr; www.funradio.fr
For practising topics we’ve covered:
• www.kerboodle.com - online listening & reading tasks
Films
Try to watch at least one French film over the summer & write a short review in French. Lots of French films are available on amazon), e.g.
• Amélie; Coco avant Chanel; La vie en rose; Jean de Florette; Manon des Sources; Au revoir les enfants; Être et avoir
Recommended reads -
• Buy a French magazine on a topic of interest to you
• Read a recent copy of Authentik magazine
Summarize 6+ articles, 4 in English & 2 in French
Places to visit – any French-speaking country!
Grammar revision – write your own rulebook (in Word) for the present, perfect, imperfect, future & conditional tenses, including a practice exercise of 10 questions for each – all carefully tested!

Yr 12 in to Yr13

Geography

Textbooks
• A2 Geography AQA Nelson Thornes 2009
• A2 Geography AQA Phillip Allen 2009
Websites
• www.volcano.wr.usgs.gov
• www.fema.gov
• www.en.wikpedia.org/wiki/ledc
• www.infosys.com
Films
• Supervolcano
• Death in Gaza
• Dante’s Peak
• Slum Dog Millionaire
People to research
• Wegener
• Mercalli
• Rostow
Recommended reads
• The Geographical Review – library
• Focus
• National Geographic
• Pompeii - R Harrison
• UN Millennium development Goals Report
Key words to research
• Human development index, development gap, NIC, outsourcing, cultural globalisation, sustainable tourism, degrees of integration & TNC.
• Constructive plate margins, destructive, subduction, pyroclastic flow, jokulhlaups, tsunami & hurricane.

Physics

see Yr12 list

Business Studies

Textbooks
• Coupland-Smith H, Mansell D and Stimpson P (2009), AQA A2 Business Studies, Nelson Thornes
Websites
• http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/business/business_noticeboard.php?id=05&prev=05
TV Programmes
• The Apprentice, BBC
• The Business Inspector, Channel Five
Businesses to research
• Tesco
• British Airways
• Coca Cola
Recommended reads
• Klein N (2010), No Logo (Special Edition), Fourth Estate
Places to visit
• Museum of Brands, London
• Make it in Great Britain exhibition, Science Museum, London
Key words to research
• Functional Objectives – Aim, objective, strategy
• Financial Strategies – cash flow, revenue, profit, fixed costs, variable costs
• Marketing Strategies – marketing mix, market analysis, market research

Business BTEC

Textbooks
• Bevan J, Dransfield R, Coupland-Smith H, Goymer J and Richards C (2009), BTEC Level 3 National Business Student Book 1, Pearson
• Bevan J, Goymer J, Richards C and Richards N (2009), BTEC Level 3 National Business Student Book 2, Pearson
Websites
• http://www.edexcel.com/quals/nationals10/business/Pages/default.aspx
TV Programmes
• The Apprentice, BBC
• Mary Queen of Shops, BBC
• The Business Inspector, Channel Five
People/ Companies to research
• Marks and Spencer
• John Lewis
Recommended reads
• Jewell B(2000), An Integrated Approach to Business Studies, Longman
• Palmer and Hartley (2006) The Business Environment, McGraw-Hill
• Business articles from local and national newspapers
Places to visit
• Museum of Brands, London
• Made in Great Britain exhibition, Science Museum, London
Key words to research
• Recruitment, selection, decision making, business information.

Travel and Tourism BTEC L3

Textbooks
• Dale G (2010), BTEC Level 3 National Travel and Tourism Student Book 1, Pearson
Websites
• http://www.edexcel.com/quals/nationals10/travel/Pages/default.aspx
TV Programmes
• The Lakes, ITV
• The Hotel Inspector, Channel 5
• Airport, BBC
People/ Companies to research
• British Airways
• TUI
Recommended reads
• Holloway C (2006), The Business of Tourism, Seventh Edition , FT Prentice Hall
• Travel Weekly Magazine
Places to visit
• Local visitor attractions
• One World Exhibition, Olympia, London July 2012
Key words to research
• Customer Service, Long-haul holiday, multi-centre holiday.