If A-level History feels confusing before you have even started revising, begin by finding the exact option code used by your school. You do not need to know the topic already.
AQA courses can cover similar countries and periods while asking different questions. Check your course document, textbook or teacher’s instructions for a code such as 1C, 1H, 1J, 2D, 2N, 2O or 2R, then choose the matching page below.
Choose your AQA option
AQA 1C — The Tudors: England, 1485–1603
Meet the five Tudor monarchs, learn the basic story from the beginning and then build gradually towards change-over-time questions and interpretations.
AQA 1H — Tsarist and Communist Russia, 1855–1964
Follow Russia from rule by the Tsars through revolution, Communist dictatorship and the years after Stalin.
Open AQA 1H: Tsarist and Communist Russia
AQA 2B — The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499
Begin with the weakness of Henry VI’s government, then follow Yorkist victory, Edward IV, Richard III and Henry VII while learning how authority and legitimacy changed.
Start AQA 2B: The Wars of the Roses
AQA 2D — Religious Conflict and the Church in England, c1529–c1570
Begin with the religious world of early Tudor England, then follow the changes and conflicts under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I.
Start AQA 2D: Religious Conflict and the Church
AQA 2N — Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953
Trace the collapse of the old order, the Bolshevik Revolution and the development of dictatorship under Lenin and Stalin.
Start AQA 2N: Revolution and Dictatorship
AQA 2O — Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918–1945
Follow Germany from defeat in the First World War through the Weimar Republic, Hitler’s rise and Nazi dictatorship.
Start AQA 2O: Democracy and Nazism
AQA 2R — The Cold War, c1945–1991
Build the complete story from the collapse of the wartime alliance through global confrontation, détente and the end of the Soviet Union.
AQA 1J — The British Empire, c1857–1967
Follow imperial expansion, rule and resistance from the aftermath of the 1857 rebellion through world war, nationalism and decolonisation.
Start AQA 1J: The British Empire
AQA 1K — The Making of a Superpower: USA, 1865–1975
Follow the United States from Reconstruction and industrial expansion through Depression, world war, civil-rights struggle and the limits of superpower status in Vietnam.
Start AQA 1K: The Making of a Superpower
AQA 2Q — The American Dream: reality and illusion, 1945–1980
Follow the United States from the confidence and prosperity of 1945 through civil-rights struggle, social protest, Vietnam, Watergate and the economic and political uncertainty of the 1970s.
Start AQA 2Q: The American Dream
AQA 2P — The Transformation of China, 1936–1997
Follow China from invasion and civil war through Communist victory, Maoist transformation and reform under Deng Xiaoping.
Start AQA 2P: The Transformation of China
AQA 2F — The Sun King: Louis XIV, France and Europe, 1643–1715
Explore Louis XIV’s government, court, religion, economy and European wars while testing the practical limits of absolutism.
AQA 2H — France in Revolution, 1774–1815
Follow the collapse of monarchy, constitutional experiment, republic and Terror, then examine Napoleon’s rule of France and Europe.
Start AQA 2H: France in Revolution
AQA 2S — The Making of Modern Britain, 1951–2007
Follow Britain from post-war affluence through economic crisis, Thatcherism and New Labour, connecting politics with social change and Britain’s changing world role.
Start AQA 2S: The Making of Modern Britain
AQA 2M — Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition, 1906–1957
Follow Britain through Liberal reform, two world wars, industrial conflict, depression, reconstruction and the beginnings of mass affluence.
Start AQA 2M: Wars and Welfare
AQA 1G — Challenge and Transformation: Britain, c.1851–1964
Trace the development of democracy, industry, society and welfare across Victorian Britain, two world wars and the post-war settlement, with Ireland integrated throughout.
Start AQA 1G: Challenge and Transformation
AQA 1D — Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1702
Follow the Stuart monarchy through religious and financial conflict, civil war, regicide, republican experiments, Restoration and the establishment of constitutional monarchy across England, Scotland and Ireland.
AQA 2E — The English Revolution, 1625–1660
Follow the breakdown of royal government through civil war, regicide, radicalism and republican experiments, ending with the Restoration of Charles II.
Start AQA 2E: The English Revolution
AQA 2C — The Reformation in Europe, c1500–1564
Follow the challenge to the late-medieval Church through Luther, Zwingli and Calvin, religious conflict in the Empire, and Catholic renewal by 1564.
AQA 1A — The Age of the Crusades, c1071–1204
Follow the crusading movement from its eleventh-century origins through the First, Second, Third and Fourth Crusades, the government of Outremer and the growth of Muslim political resistance.
AQA 1B — Spain in the Age of Discovery, 1469–1598
Follow Spain from the dynastic union of Isabella and Ferdinand through Charles I and Philip II, connecting government, religion, society, overseas expansion and the costs and limits of Great Power status.
AQA 1E — Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682–1796
Follow Russia from Peter the Great’s contested accession and war-driven reforms through the palace coups after his death to Catherine the Great’s enlightened language, noble empire, serfdom and expansion.
Start AQA 1E: Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment
AQA 1F — Industrialisation and the people: Britain, c1783–1885
Follow Britain from Pitt and the pressures of revolution and war through industrialisation, popular protest, parliamentary reform and the age of Gladstone and Disraeli, connecting economic growth with uneven social change.
AQA 1L — The quest for political stability: Germany, 1871–1991
Follow Germany from the Kaiserreich through Weimar democracy, Nazi dictatorship, division and the Federal Republic, comparing political authority, opposition, economic change, society and the creation of democratic stability.
AQA 2A — Royal Authority and the Angevin Kings, 1154–1216
Follow Henry II, Richard I and King John as they restored, delegated and contested royal authority across England and the Angevin lands, ending with Magna Carta and the First Barons’ War.
AQA 2G — The Birth of the USA, 1760–1801
Follow the breakdown of British imperial authority, the Revolution and international war, then examine how Americans replaced the Confederation with a contested federal Constitution and established party government by 1801.
AQA 2J — America: A Nation Divided, c1845–1877
Follow the struggle over slavery and expansion through sectional breakdown and Civil War, then examine emancipation, constitutional change and the contested retreat from Reconstruction by 1877.
AQA 2K — International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941
Follow Great Power rivalry into the First World War, assess the contested peace settlement and collective security, then connect aggression and appeasement in Europe and Asia to global war by 1941.
AQA 2L — Italy and Fascism, c1900–1945
Follow Liberal Italy through war and Fascist dictatorship, assess Mussolini’s social, economic and imperial ambitions, then trace military defeat, occupation and civil war to Fascism’s final collapse in 1945.
AQA 2T — The Crisis of Communism: The USSR and the Soviet Empire, 1953–2000
Follow the Soviet Union and its European empire from de-Stalinisation through stagnation, reform, popular opposition and collapse, then examine the difficult post-communist transitions of the 1990s.
Cannot see your option?
That does not mean you have done anything wrong. This section of the site is still growing. Check the option code with your teacher rather than using the nearest-sounding course: dates, required content and exam questions may differ.
Help with studying History
- How to Revise History — choose a manageable revision method.
- Writing Better History Answers — use this after you understand the relevant story.
- Exam Technique — learn what to do with your knowledge in an assessment.
