AQA GCSE History: Reviewing the 2025 Exams
ABOUT THIS COURSE
This new, in-depth course has been designed to transform common mistakes from the 2025 AQA GCSE History exams into opportunities for growth and improvement. The course will provide valuable insights into student performance, highlight key areas of concern, and offer practical strategies to refine your teaching approach. Through expert-led sessions, you will explore ways to better prepare students for future exams, improve their written responses, and ensure they meet the demands of GCSE History assessments.BENEFITS OF ATTENDING
• Gain a detailed understanding of key lessons from the 2025 exams • Identify trends in student performance and areas that need improvement • Improve student responses to short-answer and extended-answer questions • Learn effective strategies to enhance students’ historical analysis and evaluation skills • Develop practical approaches to engage and support mixed-ability students in history educationPROGRAMME
10.00am: Understanding the 2025 Exam Performance- Key takeaways from the 2025 exams – successes and areas for improvement
- Identifying patterns in student performance across different question types and topics
- Understanding common errors and misconceptions in student responses
- Developing an action plan to refine teaching methods and improve student outcomes
10.45am: Break
11.00am: Mastering Extended Answer Questions
- How student responses compared to examiner expectations
- Structuring high-quality answers to meet AO1, AO2, and AO3 requirements
- Teaching students how to embed historical analysis, evaluation, and evidence in their responses
- Strategies to improve depth, clarity, and focus in extended responses
11.45am: Question Level Analysis – Overcoming Common Challenges
- Identifying the areas where students struggled most in the 2025 exams
- Addressing gaps in historical knowledge, understanding, and application
- Strengthening students’ ability to interpret and answer exam questions accurately
- Developing question-specific strategies to maximise marks, particularly in key historical periods
12.30pm: Lunch 1.30pm: NEA Spotlight – Improving Written Coursework and Source Analysis
- Understanding the AQA grade boundaries for historical coursework and how students can meet them
- Common mistakes in written coursework and how to address these issues
- Supporting students to develop high-quality source analysis and interpretation skills
- Structuring high-quality coursework and evaluations of historical sources
2.30pm: Break
2.40pm: Moving Forward – Maximising Success in 2026 and Beyond
- Embedding assessment objectives in lesson delivery to meet the demands of the exam
- Skill-based teaching strategies to enhance students' understanding of key historical themes and events
- Creating engaging lessons that support mixed-ability students and encourage critical thinking
- Action planning for continued success in GCSE History exams in the years ahead
3.30pm: Depart
GCSE - Code: T0352
AQA GCSE History: Reviewing the 2025 Exams
COURSE LEADER
Alex Anderson is an experienced Head of Humanities and Senior Examiner based in the North East of England and has been teaching AQA GCSE History for 11 years. Throughout this time, she has worked with a wide range of students, securing excellent outcomes in three schools across the region.
She has been a Senior Examiner for AQA for the past seven years, working across various GCSE History units. She has expert insight into the course structure and grading criteria, allowing her to clearly explain how different grades can be achieved across the papers. As a result, she has supported other schools in improving their AQA History results and successfully implementing the specification. She has also contributed to GCSE History revision resources, having written a revision workbook for Hodder and developed additional materials for their website.
As a Course Leader, she is passionate about supporting teachers in breaking down barriers to learning and ensuring students achieve their full potential.
Course Brochure
