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Contents Page No.

Introduction and general resources 2

Art 3

Biology 4

Business 5

Chemistry 6

Computing 7

Dance 8

Economics 9-10

English 11

Film Studies 12-13

Geography 14

Government & Politics 15

History – German Democratic Republic 16

History – Russia 17

History – Warfare 17-19

Maths 20

Philosophy & Ethics 21

Physics 22

Psychology 23

Sociology 24-25

Theatre 26-27

2

Why Wider Reading?

Wider reading throughout an A-Level course will ensure that students are exposed to the

cultural knowledge surrounding the subject. This can be gained by reading books, articles

from associations, journals, listening to podcasts or attending live lectures.

It’s unlikely students will be able to use this wider knowledge to answer specific exam

questions, but it can deepen understanding of the syllabus content. With a deeper

understanding of the subject comes better confidence, and this should lead to achievement

of the higher grades.

Useful general resources:

• Cambridge University wider reading for A Level subjects:

https://www.myheplus.com/

• Oxford University wider reading for A Level subjects:

http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/suggested-reading-and-

resources

• TED Talks lectures on video:

https://www.ted.com/talks

• TED Talks podcasts:

https://www.ted.com/podcasts

• Lectures at Cambridge:

http://talks.cam.ac.uk/

• Oxford podcast lectures:

https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/keywords/education

• Gresham Lectures:

https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch/

• 40 “Best Educational podcasts”:

https://collegeinfogeek.com/best-podcasts/

• UEA lectures by Institute of Philosophy:

https://www.uea.ac.uk/philosophy/news-and-events/public-lecture-series-2019

3

Art

There is no set text for A Level Art. Students research and select their own artists to respond

to, so there is a wide variety of art forms within one class.

The focus for those students looking to achieve the highest grades is to regularly visit

galleries and museums, use social media to follow artists and see how their artwork

develops.

Students should use internet sources to research chosen artists, and include essays and

critical writing of art historians and critics in their sketchbooks and personal investigation

essay.

4

Biology The following books are recommended:

• Ben Goldacre – “Bad Science”

• Alex Boese – “Elephants on Acid and Other Bizarre Experiments”

• Alex Boese – “Hippo Eats Dwarf”

• Rebecca Skloot – “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”

• Len Fisher – “Weighing the Soul: The Evolution of Scientific Beliefs”

• Bill Bryson – “A Short History of Nearly Everything “

• Richard Dawkins – “The Selfish Gene”

• Matt Ridley – “Genome: The Autobiography of a species in 23 Chapters”

• Susan Greenfield – “The Private Life of the Brain”

• Nick Lane – “Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning of life “

• Oliver Sacks – “The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat”

• Stephen Jay Gould – “The Lying Stones of Marrakech “

• Roger Highfield – “Can Reindeer Fly?: The Science of Christmas”

• Peter Atkins – “Atkins’ Molecules”

• Guy Brown – “The Energy of Life”

• Robin Hesketh – “Betrayed by Nature: The War on Cancer”

• Richard Dawkins – “The Blind Watchmaker”

• Charles Darwin – “On the Origin of Species”

5

Business

Students are encouraged to read “Business Review Magazine”, Philip Allan Magazines:

Hodder Education. This is stocked in the Library at school.

The following books are recommended:

• Boyce, G., & Ville, S.P. (2002). The Development of Modern Business.

Basingstoke: Palgrave.

• Kay, J. (1993). Foundations of Corporate Success: How Business Strategies Add

Value. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Whittington, R. (1993). What is Strategy - and Does It Matter? London:

Routledge.

• Barney, J.B. (1986). Organizational culture: Can it be a source of sustained

competitive advantage? Academy of Management Review, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 656-

665

• Baron, David P. 2010. Business and its Environment. (Sixth edition). Pearson.

• Christensen, C. (1997). The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies

Cause Great Firms to Fail. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

• Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, Nov/Dec,

Vol. 76, No. 6, pp. 93-102.

• Kotler, P., Armstrong. G., Wong, V., & Saunders, J. (2008). Principles of Marketing.

Fifth European Edition. FT Prentice Hall

• Slack, N., Chambers, S., & Johnston, R. (2004). Operations Management. 4th ed.

Harlow Essex: FT Prentice Hall.

6

Chemistry • The New Scientist

• Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z guide to the elements - J Emsley, OUP, ISBN:

978-0199605637

• Why Chemical Reactions Happen - J Keeler & P Woethers, OUP, ISBN:

9780199249732

• Why don't Penguin's Feet Freeze?:(and 114 other questions) - M O'Hare, Profile

Books, ISBN: 978-1861978769

• The Periodic Table - P Levi, Penguin Books, ISBN: 978-0-14-029661-7

• Chemistry: a Volatile History. This is a BBC documentary presented by Jim Al-

Kahlili. There are three episodes available online.

7

Computing One recommended book to students about the potential of Artificial Intelligence and its impact on human life is - 'Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies' by Nick Bostrum. Other study work that students should be completing to further their understanding is to watch the excellent 'Craig and Dave' Youtube series of short academic videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0HzEBLlJxlrwBAHJ5S9JQg

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Dance Books:

• Stanley Donen, Dancing on the Ceiling - Stephen Silverman

• Jazz Dance: A history of the roots and branches - Lindsey Guarino Websites:

• Rambert voices (key practitioners and influences for the Area of Study)

• Rambert

• Various Broadway history sites

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Economics

Students are encouraged to read widely in the political, business and economics

media, including:

• “Economic Review Magazine”, Philip Allan Magazines: Hodder Education. This is

stocked in the Library at school.

• The Economist http://www.economist.com/ This is stocked in our school

library. You can access a limited number of free articles on their website or you

can purchase a subscription for unlimited access.

• The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/business

• The Times http://business.timesonline.co.uk/

• The Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

• BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk

Other websites which are useful for wider study include:

• Tutor2U http://beta.tutor2u.net/economics

• Economics Help! http://www.economicshelp.org/

• Economics Online https://www.economicsonline.co.uk/

• Econdalplus - video explanations of theory https://www.econplusdal.com/

Recommended books include:

• The Price of Inequality, Joseph Stiglitz

• The Growth Delusion: The Wealth and Well-Being of Nations, David Pilling

• The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008, Paul Krugman

• The End of Alchemy: Money, Banking, and the Future of the Global Economy,

Mervyn King

• People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of

Discontent, Joseph Stiglitz

• The Undercover Economist, Tim Harford

• How to solve it, George Polya

• Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything,

Levitt, S and Dubner

• The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, Leonard Mlodinow

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• The Art of Strategy, Avinash Dixit & Barry Nalebuff

• Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems,

Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo

11

English The English Department subscribe to an online journal called emagazine for all A Level English students. Students should be accessing at least one article from this resource per week: https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/e-magazine/

Login details (case sensitive) are: Username: King Edward VI English Department Password: LitLang2016

Additionally, Literature students should be reading widely from a range of high-quality poetry, plays and novels as listed in the specification. Students should not just stick to their core texts. Language students should also read a range of polemic articles from sources such as the Guardian.

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Film Studies

All students should watch additional films made by the directors studied during the course.

Directors include:

• Billy Wilder

• Ridley Scott

• Christopher Nolan

• Matt Ross

• Andrea Arnold

• Shane Meadows

• Guillermo del Toro

• Fernando Mereilles

• Asif Kapadia

• F.W. Murnau

• Jean Luc-Godard

Books:

There is an endorsed student textbook available, though not all the films covered in the book

are ones studied.

If students wish to read up on general Film Studies background and theory, then the

following books can be purchased in used condition for very little cost:

• An Introduction to Film Studies, Jill Nelmes

• Film Art: An Introduction, David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson

• The Good, The Bad and the Multiplex, Mark Kermode

Websites:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film

http://www.bfi.org.uk

http://www.bbfc.co.uk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/

http://www.film4.com/

http://www.totalfilm.com

http://www.empireonline.com

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment_and_arts/

http://www.filmsite.org/

http://www.screenonline.org.uk

TV:

Mark Kermode’s BBC4 series: The Secrets of Cinema

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bbn5pt/episodes/player

YouTube Channels:

Film Riot: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6P24bhhCmMPOcujA9PKPTA

No Film School: http://nofilmschool.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/user/nofilmschool

Folding Ideas: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyNtlmLB73-7gtlBz00XOQQ

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Geography

General Additional Reading:

• Geography: An integrated approach, David Waugh – excellent breadth and depth

of A-Level content.

• Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World (2004), Richard

Heinberg

• Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet (2008), Mark Lynas

• The Debt Boomerang (2008), Wallace Broeker and Robert Kunzig

• There is no such thing as a natural disaster (2006), Chester Hartman and

Gregory D Squires

Human Geography:

• Crang, P., Goodwin,M, & Cloke, P. (2014). Introducing Human Geographies (Third

ed.) – Abingdon, Oxon, New York, Routledge

• Gregory, D., & Herod, A. (2010). The Dictionary of Human Geography (5th ed. ed.)

– Chichester, Wiley-Blackwell.

• Pearce, F. (2010) People Quake: Mass Migration, Ageing Nations and the Coming

Population Crash – Eden Project

Physical Geography:

• Lovelock, J (2010) The Vanishing Face of Gaia; A final warning

• Lovelock, J. (2006) The Revenge of Gaia – Penguin

• Lovelock, J. (1979) Gaia, a new look at life on Earth – Oxford University Press

15

Government and Politics

• Leviathan (1651) – Thomas Hobbes

• Two Treatises on Government (1689) – John Locke

• The Communist Manifesto (1848) – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

• The Future of Socialism (1956) – Anthony Crosland

• Anarchy, Utopia and the State (1974) – Robert Nozick

• Theories of Justice (1971) – John Rawls

• Vindication of the Rights of women (1792) – Mary Wollstonecraft

• On Being Conservative (1956) – Michael Oakeshott

• On Liberty (1859) – John Stuart Mill

• The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (1914) – Robert Tressell

• Love on the Dole (1933) Walter Greenwood

• Atlas Shrugged (1957) – Ayn Rand

• The Science of Logic (1812) – Gustav Hegel

• The Third Way (1998) – Anthony Giddens

• The Feminist Mystique (1963) – Betty Friedan

• Feminism is for Everybody (2000) – bell hooks

• Mutual Aid (1902) – Peter Kropotkin

• The Ego and its own (1844) – Max Stirner

• God and the State (1882) – Mikhail Bakunin

• Property is Theft – Pierre Joseph Proudhon (Cambridge Texts on the Philosophy

of Political Thought (1994)

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History

German Democratic Republic

Books:

• Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Wall by Anna Funder. Interviews and

reflections on life in the GDR – the ups and downs.

• The File: A Personal History by Timothy Garten Ash. An international journalist

gets hold of his Stasi file in 1993 and tells his own story against the backdrop of

dictatorship and betrayal.

• The People’s State: East German Society from Hitler to Honecker by Mary

Fulbrook. A GDR guru here, anything by Mary Fulbrook is brilliant if you want more

depth than your A-Level textbook.

• Easier Fatherland: Germany and the Twenty-First Century by Steve Crawshaw.

Exploring changes of the impact of Nazism over time and how Germany has

changed

• Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada. An excellent look into the control the Nazis had

and would make some interesting comparisons to the control of the Gestapo and the

Stasi.

• Oranges for Christmas by Margarita Morris. This novel follows two siblings as they

struggle to survive in the wake of the Berlin Wall.

• The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding. Thomas Harding considers the history

of Germany from the perspective of the one house.

Films/TV:

• Lives of Others – Useful for considering how the Stasi operated and the impact it

could have on ordinary people.

• Goodbye, Lenin! The story follows a family in East Germany.

• Sonnenallee - a film about youth in East Germany.

• Deutschland 83 – TV drama in which an East German spy sees Western Germany.

Websites:

• http://germanhistorydocs. ghi-dc.org/home.cfm

• https://www.dw.com/en/ east-germany/t-19035001

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Russia

Books:

• A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes. Tells the story of the Russian Revolution.

• The Whisperers by Orland Figes. Stories of ordinary people's lives which shows the

impact of Soviet policies.

• The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montfiore. Fascinating look at Stalin.

• Young Stalin, by Simon Sebag Montfiore. Covers the early life of Stalin.

• The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction by S.A. Smith

Websites:

http://www.orlandofiges.info/ has lots more suggestions related to specific topics.

History Today https://www.historytoday.com/

Historical Fiction/Russian literature:

• One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Inspired by a true story, set in

Stalin's Moscow after World War II.

• Sashenka by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Set in 1916 in St Petersburg.

• Deathless by Catherine M. Valente. Set against the history of Russia in the 20th

century.

• The Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. Overarching narrative of Russian and European

history.

Documentaries/podcasts (available online):

• Empire of the Tsars by Lucy Worsely https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06vmlcg

• Russian Rulers’ Podcasts: http://russianrulers.podhoster.com/

Warfare

Books:

• In These Times by Jenny Uglow. An interesting look into real life experiences of

people at the time of the Napoleonic Wars.

• Jack Tar by Roy and Leslie Adkins. For all things nautical in the French Wars.

• Red Coats by Richard Holmes. For all things to do with the British Army. Follows

some individual soldiers through the French Wars.

• Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell.

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• Crimea by Orlando Figes. Puts the war into an interesting historical perspective.

• The Boer War by Judd and Surridge. A helpful overview of the war as a whole.

• The Long Shadow by David Reynolds. A recent perspective on how WW1 has been

remembered.

• Captain Hepper’s diary. A personal account of WW1 with links to King Edward’s.

Lots of copies in the department.

• The Pity of War by Niall Ferguson. Considers the futility of fighting World War One.

A nice comparison with David Reynold’s opinion.

• The Age of Empire and The Age of Revolution by Eric Hobsbawm. Anything by

Hobsbawm is classic and great for giving you an overview of the century.

• Very Short Introductions. These give a brief overview of the topic and a

manageable amount to read.

• The British Army by Judd and Surridge. Useful for considering the final question on

the paper about overview and change over time.

Historical Fiction:

• Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brien. Adventure/war stories fantastically

researched.

• Sharpe by Bernard Cornwall. Engaging story of Sharpe who fights in all the key

battles. Also a TV series.

• Longbourn by Jo Baker. A retelling of Pride and Prejudice and includes fighting in

the Peninsular Wars.

• The Rose of Sebastapol by Katharine McMahon. Set in the Crimean War; a

romance.

• Regeneration by Pat Barker. A look at mental health during WW1 - well researched.

• Strange Meeting by Susan Cooper. Good for trench warfare and conditions.

• Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally. A very unusual and interesting story about

alternative fronts in WW1.

• A Testament of Youth by Vera Britten. Vera Britten tells her own story of what

happened to herself as a nurse and the young men she knew during WW1.

• Birdsong by Sebastian Faulkes. A WW1 classic, interesting for tunneling and trench

warfare.

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Documentaries/podcasts/websites:

• Sword, Musket and Machine Gun. Excellent BBC documentary but tricky to access

– sometimes available via YouTube. All about changes in military weapons and

technology over time.

• The Crimean War: A Crash of Empires. Series of episodes on the Crimean War

(e.g. Episode 2 on the Charge of the Light Brigade). 45 minute episodes.

• Against the Empire: The Boer War. BBC Two documentary on the Boer War. A bit

outdated but some good personal stories.

• 20th Century Battlefields. Good for tactics on the Somme. Always on YouTube.

• They Shall Not Grow Old. WW1 documentary released last year. Department has a

copy. Excellent and moving footage in colour.

• Radio 4 ‘In Our Time’ on each conflict. Four historians discuss and debate key

topics in History. Always interesting and good to listen to on the go.

• YouTube is particularly good for military history. You’ll find loads on weaponry,

individual battles with troop movements.

• National Army Museum website and BBC iwonder have good resources on lots of

the battles.

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Maths The Maths Department recommend that students “complete every past paper, every question in the textbook and make sure they get everything correct”. Websites:

• Edexcel https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-a-

levels/mathematics-2017.html

• Exam solutions – excellent for tutorials as well as practice exam papers

https://www.examsolutions.net/a-level-maths/edexcel/

• Crash Maths – a wide range of exam papers which are tiered to differentiate for

students’ ability. https://crashmaths.com/a-level-practice-papers-edexcel/

• Dr Frost Maths – students must register but it’s free access to tutorials and past

paper questions https://www.drfrostmaths.com/

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Philosophy and Ethics

Philosophy:

• Baggini, Julian; The Pig That Wants to be Eaten: And Ninety Nine Other Thought

Experiments

• Dawkins, Richard; The Blind Watchmaker

• Dawkins, Richard; The God Delusion

• McGrath, Alister; The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the

Denial of the Divine

• Wilson, Andrew; If God, Then What?

Ethics:

• Hope, Tony; Medical Ethics: A Very Short Introduction

• Singer, Peter; Animal Liberation

• Vardy, Peter; Ethics Matters

• Wilcockson, Michael; Medical Ethics

Fiction:

• Dostoevsky, Feodor; The Brothers Karamazov

• Gaarder, Jostein; Sophie’s World

• Pullman, Philip; Northern Lights

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Physics Books:

• Seven Brief Lessons in Physics, Rovelli

• Six Easy Pieces, Feynman

• The Universe in a Nutshell, Hawking

• A Brief History of Time, Hawking

• Six Not so Easy Pieces, Feynman

• Forces of Nature, Cox

• In Search of Schrodinger's Cat: Updated Edition by John Gribbin

• The Elegant Universe Brian Greene

• The Road to Reality - Rodger Penrose

Websites:

• IsaacPhysics (recommended by Oxford) https://isaacphysics.org/alevel

• PHET https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/physics

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Psychology

Theory:

• Roger R Hock; Forty Studies that Changed Psychology

• Jon Ronson; The Psychopath Test

• Oliver Sacks; The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

• Matthew Syed; Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice

Fiction:

Gabriel Garcia Marquez; One Hundred Years of Solitude

Magazines/journals:

• Psychology Review (Quarterly)

• The Psychologist (Monthly)

• Scientific American (Monthly)

Websites/organisations:

The British Psychological Society (BPS): http://www.bps.org.uk

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Sociology

Theory:

• Laura Bates; Everyday Sexism

• Paul Feen; A 1960s Child

• Owen Jones; Chavs: the demonization of the working class

• Helen Macdonald; H is for Hawk. Dealing with grief

• Paul Shipton; Made in Dagenham. Women’s equal pay/feminism

Fiction:

• Anthony Burgess; Clockwork Orange. Futurism

• Narinder Dhami; Bend it Like Beckham. Exploring cultures

• Arthur Golden; Memoirs of a Geisha. Exploring cultures

• Jodie Picoult; Nineteen Minutes. Youth and deviance

• Jonathan Trigell; Boy A. Crime and punishment

Magazines/journals:

• Sociology Review

• New Internationalist

• The New Statesmen

• The Economist

All newspapers are valuable resources for students. A number of key newspapers have

sociologists writing articles, and cover stories in a very sociological in-depth way. Key

newspapers include:

• The Guardian – On Tuesday there is a useful ‘Education’ supplement, and on

Wednesday there is a useful ‘Society’ supplement

• The Independent.

• The Times

• The Observer

• The Telegraph

• The Financial Times

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Television:

• Panorama (BBC1)

• Channel 4 News

• Cutting Edge (C4)

Websites:

National Statistics: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/glance/

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Theatre Studies

Practitioners and Theory:

• The Theatre of Stephen Berkoff by Stephen Berkoff

• An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavski

• The Theatre and its double by Antonin Artaud

• The Empty Space by Peter Brooke

• Theatre of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal (Theatre in Education)

• The Moving Body by Jacques Le Coq

• Brecht on Theatre by Bertolt Brecht

• A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology by Eugenio Barba

• The Theatre of the Absurd by Martin Esslin

• Pina Bausche by Royd Climenhaga

• Towards a Poor Theatre by Jerzy Grotowski

• Shakespeare: The Theatre of Our World by Peter Conrad

Directing/ Devising/Performing:

• The Directors Craft by Katie Mitchell

• Devising Theatre by Alison Oddey (Forced Entertainment)

• The Frantic Assembly Book of Devising by Scott Graham

• The complete Brecht toolkit by Stephen Unwin

• The complete Stanislavski toolkit by Bella Merlin

• Commedia Dell’Arte: An Actor’s Handbook by John Rudlin

• The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre by John Russell Brown

• Directing a Play by Michael McCaffery (Phaidon Theatre Manuals)

Design/stage Management:

• Stage Design: A Practical Guide by Gary Thorne

• Lighting and Sound by Neil Fraser (Phaidon Theatre Manuals)

• Costume and Make-up by Michael Holt (Phaidon Theatre Manuals)

• Stage Management and Theatre Administration by Pauline Menear (Phaidon

Theatre Manuals)

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Websites:

• https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/about-the-national-theatre/archive

• https://www.digitaltheatre.com/ (Membership required)

• https://www.franticassembly.co.uk/ (Their website houses all the resource packs for

their productions)

National Theatre workshops/building blocks on YouTube include the following:

Frantic Assembly

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUqZPfGIX6U&spfreload=10

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4mXhW7TXQ8&spfreload=10

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2bV75ITXJw&spfreload=10

Devising/Creating

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6anj5T_I5k&spfreload=10

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKd9ERhV5SI&spfreload=10

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RRc4tq2kpE&spfreload=10

Commedia

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJEwuurzDe4&spfreload=10

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlIFR6c7NZc&spfreload=10