GCSE History Exam Predictions 2025: Power and the People c1170-present (AQA)

Facing a paper like Power and the People, spanning nearly a thousand years of history, can feel daunting, and knowing where to focus your energy seems crucial. So, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on what might appear this year, based on what we've seen AQA do in the past few exams.

But first, the really important bit: Please, please remember that these are just educated guesses! AQA sets the papers, and they can, and often do, surprise us. There's absolutely no substitute for revising everything on the specification. Think of this less as a cheat sheet and more as nudging you towards areas that perhaps haven't had as much limelight recently.

How Do We Even Guess?

My thinking, and that of many teachers, usually involves looking at the papers from the last few years. Topics that were the main focus of a big question (like an 8-mark 'significance' or a source question) recently are probably less likely to be the main focus again straight away. They might pop up in a comparison question, or you'll need the knowledge for context, but maybe not as the star of the show.

So, we look for the gaps. What parts of the story from 1170 to the present day haven't been put under the microscope in a while? We also look at the big 16-mark essay question – they tend to rotate the main 'factor' they ask you to evaluate (like the economy, government, ideas, individuals).

So, What Areas Might Be Worth Extra Attention?

Based on looking back, here are a few topics that seem like they could be candidates for featuring more prominently this year:

1. Chartism: We saw a source about 19th-century voting protest last year, which touches on it, but Chartism itself – its specific demands, methods (Moral vs. Physical Force), key figures, and why it ultimately didn't succeed in the short term but had long-term impact – hasn't been the direct star for a little while. It’s a really significant popular movement.

2. The Peasants' Revolt (as the main event): This classic medieval revolt has appeared in comparisons, but a dedicated question on its causes (poll tax, Black Death aftermath, unhappy peasants and artisans) and its dramatic, though short-lived, challenge to authority feels like a possibility.

3. The General Strike (1926): Moving into the 20th Century, this massive industrial dispute is a cornerstone of understanding workers' rights and government responses in modern Britain. 1 It hasn't featured directly in the last few years' papers I've analysed.  

4. The English Revolution – Beyond just Charles I: We had a source on Charles I a few years back and Cromwell in a comparison, but the wider significance, the role of the New Model Army, the radical ideas floating around (Levellers, Diggers), or Cromwell's rule itself could certainly be explored more directly.

5. Other 19th Century Reformers: The Anti-Slavery movement got its moment in 2023, which was great to see. But what about the campaigns against the Corn Laws, or the work of factory reformers like Shaftesbury, or social reformers tackling poverty and public health? These are all key parts of that 'Reform and Reformers' section.

   
   

And the Big Essay Question (The 16-Marker)?

This is always tricky! In the last four years, the main factors assessed have been: The Role of the Individual (2023), Ideas like equality/democracy (2022), Government (2021), and Economic Factors (2020).

Looking at the syllabus factors AQA highlights – war, religion, chance, government, communication, the economy, ideas, and the role of the individual – the ones that haven't been the focus recently are War, Religion, Chance, and Communication.

My gut feeling? War or Religion could be strong contenders. Think about how often conflict (Civil War, American Revolution, impact of World Wars on suffrage/rights) or religious disputes (Pilgrimage of Grace, English Revolution, Catholic emancipation later on) have driven change or protest in British history. Be ready with examples spanning the whole period for all factors, but maybe give those two some extra thought for the big essay.

Final Words

Please use these thoughts wisely! Don't just revise these topics. Go back over everything – Magna Carta, Simon de Montfort, the Reform Acts, Votes for Women, Minority Rights campaigns like the Brixton Riots aftermath – because you need that breadth of knowledge for context and comparisons anyway.

Focus on understanding the connections between events and the factors driving change across the centuries. Practice planning answers to all the question types.

If you're feeling a bit overwhelmed or unsure where to focus, our GCSE guides for AQA at Kingsbridge Education are packed with what you actually need such as clear summaries, countless model answers and integrated flashcards and quizzes to test yourself along the way. Find out more here: https://www.kingsbridgeeducation.co.uk

All the best.