What's New?
The Government and Politics A Level has consistently been one of the most popular courses in Lagan College.
I have designed this website to help YOU maximize YOUR learning potential. There is nothing to stop you succeeding in Politics and getting the highest mark possible. On this site you can find a range of online material, notes, presentations, useful web links and news. You will also have your own chance to contribute. In order to learn from each other, some of the best assignments will also be uploaded. As always, we welcome any suggestions to make this site better and your learning more productive. If you have missed a lesson, want to check your notes or want to read ahead, simply look on this site and download at your convenience. Enjoy!! Mr J. Wishart |
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Huge congratulations to the A Level politics classes of 2015. WHAT A RESULT!! 6 A's, 4 B's, 2 C's and 2 D's!!! That is amazing and reflects all your hard work and strenuous efforts over the past 2 years. It also sets you all up for a great introduction to university or careers!
Well done AS Politics students too. 3 A's, 3B's, 5 C's and 2 D's. For many of you that gives you a good start for A2. A HUGE WELL DONE! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! Best of luck!! Mr W |
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It is always my continuing aim to be able to teach Politics in as many ways as possible and especially in ways which reach you better. As another step towards this I have set up our very own Lagan Politics YouTube site. I am currently stacking the playlists full of the best content I can find on YouTube for all the AS and A2 topics we study. If you find anything you think would be useful, just let me know and I will add it.
CLICK THE LINK TO THE RIGHT : Happy viewing!! |
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WHAT
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There are few subjects you can study at A-Level and truly say you can change the world. Politics, however, is all about changing the world.
Our society has business, culture, entertainment and creativity but without a sound political system to govern things, these will not and cannot work effectively. Politics is about effectively managing our relationships in the world and trying to make the world a better place for all. In Politics we aim to make sense of the world around us. We develop a sound knowledge of how we are governed - in Stormont, Westminster and Europe. We also look at how the American Government works. Finally we look at ideas which have shaped the world. We look at the concept of power - Who has it and who has not. |
Each year more and more students at Lagan College come to find out what Politics is all about
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POLITICS PROVIDES YOU WITH A MYRIAD OF SKILLS WHICH YOU CAN PUT TO GOOD USE
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Our Lagan College AS and A2 pupils were invited to the NI Assembly to take part in the ongoing inquiry into shared and integrated education in Northern Ireland.
Our students were fantastic in putting forward their points with several excellent contributions from Jodi, Niamh, Sarah, Lewis, Ethan, Natasha and Shay. We made sure the integrated message was heard loud and clear. This was followed by meeting a range of MLA's such as Mike Nesbitt, Robin Newton, Trevor Lunn and Stephen Agnew as well as the committee clerk. Several of the MLA's were on the receiving end of excellent questions from Sacha, Paul and several others. This was followed by a ringside seat for Question time with feelings still noticeably tense after Gregory Cambell's weekend musings! |
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We were very pleased to be visited by 2 MLA's and a Belfast City Councillor this term. Fearghal McKinney, SDLP MLA for South Belfast was joined with Ruth Patterson for a debate and question and answer session with the pupils. Both visitors were very accommodating and answered as many questions as they could - from very different angles of course!
In October we were honoured by the visit of Anna Lo from the Alliance party. She too answered many of the pupils questions and was open and frank with them about the political process These visits were particularly enjoyed by the students and members of all three parties have won over several supporters! |
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Our ever popular annual Year 13 Politics trip to London was a huge success!! 19 students from Lagan descended on London for two days of action packed activity!
Highlights of the trip included a Celeb fest feast at Madamme Tussauds, where we rubbed shoulders with the great and good.. and not so good! This was followed by a walking tour of London (particularly enjoyed by Nicholas Hunter) At night time Mr Wishart was introduced to the glories of Nandos - especially the extra hot chilli! A fantastic adaption of Charlie and the chocolate factory was enjoyed by all in the West End. Next day we had some free time around Covent Garden and Leicester Square. We then were treated to a fantastic tour of Westminster including the Houses of Parliament and the Commons chamber. A brilliant Select Committee debate completed our tour. Our (long) trip back to the airport was enhanced by Mrs Knipe's brilliant 'London connections game' won in style by Ellen Magee! We were left with great memories of an unforgettable London trip. |
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Our fabulous Year 13 Politics class had a highly enjoyable and successful trip to the Northern Ireland Assembly as part of their AS1 course. They got the chance to grill politicians with Paxman like style. Caolan Hamilton, Chris Dickison and Shay Horan were especially probing in the depth of their questioning.
Stephen Hare and Nicholas Hunter also kept the MLA's on their feet while Natasha and Amy made sure the females were well represented with some excellent questions. Ross Campbell was especially moved by the proceedings! We had a tour of the Assembly itself, including the Chamber and a rare look at the workings of the Education Committee where we were personally welcomed. The days events were well enjoyed and highly insightful. |
WEBSITE UPDATES
I am currently spending time trying to update several areas of the website to give you more information... Just keep checking the different areas. I have put on a copy of the CCEA specifications for you to use.
If you need any help over any issue email me or use the Blog to leave a message..
Many thanks again for the gifts and card - I really appreciate it!! Good Luck. Mr W.
If you need any help over any issue email me or use the Blog to leave a message..
Many thanks again for the gifts and card - I really appreciate it!! Good Luck. Mr W.
POLITICS TRIP TO LONDON
Our ever popular annual Year 13 Politics trip to London was a huge success!! 19 students from Lagan descended on London for two days of action packed activity!
Highlights of the trip included a Celeb fest feast at Madame Tussauds, where we rubbed shoulders with the great and good.. and not so good! This was followed by a walking tour of London and at night time a fantastic adaption of Charlie and the chocolate factory in the West End. Next day we got a fantastic tour of Westminster including the Houses of Parliament and the Commons chamber. A brilliant Select Committee debate completed our tour and left us with great memories of London. Lagan Politics students appear on BBC Spotlight
This November, 4 Politics students had the chance to appear on the BBC Spotlight program. They were Laura O'Neill, Michael Morrow, Josh Gill and Julia Hinds,
They were part of the 'live' studio audience and each fielded topical questions. Guests included Mike Nesbitt of the UUP and Arlene Foster.  Student Bazar drumming up support for Politics |
The First Minister, Peter Robinson, comes to Lagan!
In January we were rewarded with a visit by First Minister, Peter Robinson. Although the Politics group did not get to put their full views and concerns across the visit was a very important one for Lagan and showed those in power how well an Integrated school works - even in Politics!
Trip to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont
The year 13 politics class, accompanied by some Year 14 students, visited the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont. They were given the chance to meet a range of MLA's and were able to quiz them Paxman style. Several of our students were in contention for question of the day with their probing enquiries for the MLA's concerned - including the health Minister.
This was a fantastic trip with a great insight into the work of the Assembly including the Executive and Committees. A straw poll was conducted after the trip to see what impact each party had made. See the results of the poll and the photos in the News section Democracy day at Castlereagh Borough Council
For World Democracy day we were kindly invited to Castlereagh Borough Council. After a tour of council buildings and the amazingly plush mayoral office we were taken to the Council Chamber. The year 13 students were in their element taking part in a charged and very eloquently argued debate on whether Carryduff should be allocated a Community centre for young people to use together with other groups. Councillors stood in as very convincing residents and concerned groups to add to the debate.
All in all a very enjoyable day which tested the Year 13's debating skills, political knowledge and showed their real ability to be the councillors of the future. |
Introduction
We begin by looking at the Northern Ireland Assembly. Before we look at Britain and the United States we have to look at how 'our own wee country' is governed.
We look at its troubled past, its new beginnings in the Good Friday agreement and how the political settlements have produced a new way of dealing with Politics and our daily life in Northern Ireland. AS1 NI Course guide Downloads
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This part of the course is very enjoyable with several key features often incorporated:
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Introduction
Following Christmas we study the British Political system. We look at how Britain is governed, looking in particular at key parts of the political system. We investigate :
AS2 course guide downloads
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This part of the course is usually started just before Christmas. It will run up until your AS exams in the Summer term. It too has several integrated elements:
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Introduction
The Focus in this module is on the United States Constitution. This provides the context that helps you examine the operation of the United States Executive and Legislature.
The Constitution will be examined as a free standing question but should help you inform on answers to questions of Legislature and Executive. Secondly you will be COMPARING, CONTRASTING and EVALUATING how well these two political systems perform at different levels. FOCUS :
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images from Philip Martin- for non commercial use
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Introduction
We look over the theories of Power. This will investigate who has power in society and who does not.
It will investigate theories of Marxism, Elitism and Pluralism and create a debate about which system works best. It will also look at how people stay in power |
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AS REVISION CHECKLIST
This is a revision checklist I have drawn up for you to help you guide yourself through the various topics.
It's not fool proof but is quite a comprehensive way to cover the main topics in Politics
Download below:
It's not fool proof but is quite a comprehensive way to cover the main topics in Politics
Download below:
AS1 Revision booklet
I have uploaded a copy of the NI AS Revision booklet here for you.
You can use all the resources online and in your books to complete this. I hope at this stage though that most of the answers will be coming from your own knowledge DOWNLOAD HERE
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AS2 REVISION BOOKLETS
I have attached the A2 British Politics booklets here for you to revise from. All the answers are freely available in your revision guides and on the website. If there is anything you are really stuck on - just ask your teacher.
DOWNLOADS:
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ESSAY PLAN TEMPLATES
AS comes as a shock in some respects as it is a lot more about what you can add as a student. You are now responsible for your own reading and research. Of course we can augment this as teachers - but nothing is better in terms of your learning than when you are doing it for yourself. With this in mind I have attached below a Notes / Revision template containing a number of NI politics topics. You can print these out and complete them as you read / research / study.
These plans will prove invaluable when it comes to sitting the tests... as they should be able to summarise a whole topic easily.
Good luck
These plans will prove invaluable when it comes to sitting the tests... as they should be able to summarise a whole topic easily.
Good luck
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A NOTE ON IMAGES USED
© J Wishart 2016-17In the course of producing this website I have used many images to appeal to the students of the college. I have tried, where possible, to attribute photos. This site is solely educational and is of non commercial use. It is aimed at Lagan College students and is password protected to ensure only they can see content. One set of images in particular is widely used and that is Philip Martin's amazing images primarily for use with Young people. These are acknowledged under his license agreement for non commercial use: Phillip Martin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
Copyright Disclaimer
www.laganpolitics.com has posted the material on this website solely for educational and non commercial use and only and for Lagan college politics pupils. The site contains material extracted from various sources. I am trying to credit all sources used where possible and gaining permission to use the material sought from copyright owners, including any individual or group that may own rights therein where applicable.
Commercial use of any material contained on this site may not be made without permission. Please contact Laganpolitics.com if you have any concern, objections or issues with respect to any material contained therein. Due to the nature of the material www.laganpolitics.com cannot always guarantee the accuracy of the extracted material.
© J Wishart 2022
Copyright Disclaimer
www.laganpolitics.com has posted the material on this website solely for educational and non commercial use and only and for Lagan college politics pupils. The site contains material extracted from various sources. I am trying to credit all sources used where possible and gaining permission to use the material sought from copyright owners, including any individual or group that may own rights therein where applicable.
Commercial use of any material contained on this site may not be made without permission. Please contact Laganpolitics.com if you have any concern, objections or issues with respect to any material contained therein. Due to the nature of the material www.laganpolitics.com cannot always guarantee the accuracy of the extracted material.
© J Wishart 2022
