Routes & Topics

The Edexcel History A-Level consists of three exams and one piece of coursework. The first two exams (Papers 1 and 2) are split between a number of potential 'routes' that students can take, consisting of different topics.

The choice of the option for Paper 1 will determine the options that may be taken for Papers 2 and 3 (ask your college/sixth-form, or refer to the specification, if you're not sure which ones you can take).

See the "Exam Structure Explained" page for a more detailed description of the exams.

Below is a breakdown of the topics available for each route. Click on each topic for a summary of the content that it covers.

Paper 1 and Paper 2:

Route A: Conquest, control and resistance in the medieval world

Paper 1, Option 1A: The crusades, c1095–1204 18
Paper 2, Option 2A.1: Anglo-Saxon England and the Anglo-Norman Kingdom, c1053–1106
Paper 2, Option 2A.2: England and the Angevin Empire in the reign of Henry II, 1154–89

Route B: Religion and the state in early modern Europe

Paper 1, Option 1B: England, 1509–1603: authority, nation and religion
Paper 2, Option 2B.1: Luther and the German Reformation, c1515–55
Paper 2, Option 2B.2: The Dutch Revolt, c1563–1609

Route C: Revolutions in early modern and modern Europe

Paper 1, Option 1C: Britain, 1625–1701: conflict, revolution and settlement
Paper 2, Option 2C.1: France in revolution, 1774–99
Paper 2, Option 2C.2: Russia in revolution, 1894–1924

Route D: Challenges to the authority of the state in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

Paper 1, Option 1D: Britain, c1785–c1870: democracy, protest and reform
Paper 2, Option 2D.1: The unification of Italy, c1830–70
Paper 2, Option 2D.2: The unification of Germany, c1840–71

Route E: Communist states in the twentieth century

Paper 1, Option 1E: Russia, 1917–91: from Lenin to Yeltsin
Paper 2, Option 2E.1: Mao’s China, 1949–76
Paper 2, Option 2E.2: The German Democratic Republic, 1949–90

Route F: Searching for rights and freedoms in the twentieth century

Paper 1, Option 1F: In search of the American Dream: the USA, c1917–96
Paper 2, Option 2F.1: India, c1914–48: the road to independence
Paper 2, Option 2F.2: South Africa, 1948–94: from apartheid state to ‘rainbow nation’

Route G: Nationalism, dictatorship and democracy in twentieth-century Europe

Paper 1, Option 1G: Germany and West Germany, 1918–89
Paper 2, Option 2G.1: The rise and fall of fascism in Italy, c1911–46
Paper 2, Option 2G.2: Spain, 1930–78: republicanism, Francoism and the re-establishment of democracy

Route H: Democracies in change: Britain and the USA in the twentieth century

Paper 1, Option 1H: Britain transformed, 1918–97
Paper 2, Option 2H.1: The USA, c1920–55: boom, bust and recovery
Paper 2, Option 2H.2: The USA, 1955–92: conformity and challenge

Paper 3:

Paper 3, Option 30: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VII, 1399–1509
Paper 3, Option 31: Rebellion and disorder under the Tudors, 1485–1603
Paper 3, Option 32: The Golden Age of Spain, 1474–1598
Paper 3, Option 33: The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750
Paper 3, Option 34.1: Industrialisation and social change in Britain, 1759–1928: forging a new society
Paper 3, Option 34.2: Poverty, public health and the state in Britain, c1780–1939
Paper 3, Option 35.1: Britain: losing and gaining an empire, 1763–1914
Paper 3, Option 35.2: The British experience of warfare, c1790–1918
Paper 3, Option 36.1: Protest, agitation and parliamentary reform in Britain, c1780–1928
Paper 3, Option 36.2: Ireland and the Union, c1774–1923
Paper 3, Option 37.1: The changing nature of warfare, 1859–1991: perception and reality
Paper 3, Option 37.2: Germany, 1871–1990: united, divided and  reunited
Paper 3, Option 38.1: The making of modern Russia, 1855–1991
Paper 3, Option 38.2: The making of modern China, 1860–1997
Paper 3, Option 39.1: Civil rights and race relations in the USA, 1850–2009
Paper 3, Option 39.2:  Mass media and social change in Britain, 1882– 2004