A Level History Student Conference: Modern Britain 1950-1997

10:25– 10:30am
Welcome and Introductions 

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10.30– 11.10 am
The Affluent Society, 1951-1964 and the Sixties 1964-1970

• How far did British society really change in the 1960s? Class, mass media, popular unrest and the Establishment: changes in moral attitudes, youth culture and the ‘permissive society’
• To what extent was there an Affluent Society between 1951 and 1964?
• Economic developments: post-war boom; balance of payments issues and ‘stop-go’ policies
• Social developments: rising living standards, the impact of affluence and consumerism, changing social attitudes and tensions
• Liberal reforming legislation – the gift of the Labour Party or inevitable social change?

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11.10 – 11.50am
The end of Post-War Consensus, 1970–1979 

• How far is it true to say that the end of the Post-War Consensus was due to short term rather than long term issues?
• Heath’s government: political and economic policies; industrial relations and the miners’ strikes; the ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland
• Labour governments of Wilson and Callaghan: political, economic and industrial problems
• and policies; problems of Northern Ireland
• Britain’s entry into and relations with Europe; the state of the ‘special relationship’ with USA;
• attitudes to USSR and China
• The rise of Thatcherism as a viable alternative ideology

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11.50 – 12.10pm
Break – submit your questions on Modern British History to our expert panel

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12:10– 12:40am
Effective Evaluation of Historical Sources 

• Analyse example responses on Society in the 1970s (e.g. on Society in the 1970s: progress of feminism; the Sex Discrimination Act; race and immigration; youth; environmentalism) that demonstrate the skills that gain the highest marks
• Examine what differentiates top from lower level responses when answering questions on the value of sources
• Improve real student responses to confirm how to reach higher mark bands and strengthen student exam performance

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12.40- 1.20 pm
The impact of Thatcherism, 1979-1987

• The Thatcher governments: Thatcher as leader, character and ideology; ministers; supportand opposition; electoral success; internal Labour divisions and the formation of the SDP
• Labour failure or Conservative success? The General Elections of 1979 and 1983
• Foreign Affairs: the Falklands; the ‘special relationship’ with USA; moves to end the Cold War; Thatcher as an international figure; attitudes to Europe, including Thatcher’s policies
• Thatcher’s economic policies and their impact: monetarism; privatisation; deregulation; issues of inflation, unemployment and economic realignment
• The appeal of Thatcher’s policies in response to ‘crises’

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1.20 – 2.00pm
Lunch

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2:00-2.10 pm
Ask the Experts

• The speakers answer the questions submitted by the students

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2.10-2.30pm
The key to excellent answers on Thatcherism and the Thatcher Government 

• Key issues, concepts and areas of strength and weakness in student answers on Margaret Thatcher, with example answers to demonstrate how to succeed

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2.30 – 3.10pm
Towards a new Consensus, 1987 – 1997: How far was there success for British society under Thatcher and Major? 

• Impact of Thatcherism on society: sale of council houses; miners’ strike and other industrial disputes; poll tax; extra-parliamentary opposition, success in the 1987 and 1992 elections
• Fall of Thatcher and her legacy; Major as leader; economic developments, including ‘Black Wednesday’ and its impact; political sleaze, scandals and satire; political policies; approach to Northern Ireland; Conservative divisions
• Realignment of the Labour Party under Kinnock, Smith and Blair; reasons for Labour victory in 1997
• Foreign affairs: relations with Europe to 1997

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3:10 –3:30 pm
The key to excellent essays on the Era of New Labour, 1997-2007 

• Planning and structuring essays on the Labour governments of 1997-2007 to ensure the highest marks
• Review and analyse example essays to demonstrate performance at different mark bands
• Explore effective integration of wider reading to create high level essays
• Mark essays at A and A* level to confirm how examiners differentiate at the top level

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3:30-3:40 pm
Final Top Tips and close

• Extra tips on excellent revision ideas, including using the specification
• Action plan – what to do after today to get the highest grades

Dr Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite

Historian of twentieth century Britain, who teaches at University College, London. Her PhD examined political and popular ideas about class in England between c. 1969 and 2000. Other historical subjects she has an interest in include gender, sexuality, prostitution and homelessness. She has published Class, Politics and the Decline of Deference in England, 1968-2000 (Oxford University Press, 2018) and is currently working on a study of women’s activism in the miners’ strike of 1984-5 with Dr Natalie Thomlinson (University of Reading).

Keith Milne

Keith has 25 years of teaching experience in a wide range of schools and is currently Head of History in a large and very successful department of eleven full-time teachers. In addition to lecturing part time at university, whilst studying for a PhD in European History, he has written and also advised on a number of textbooks for A Level History students. He is a highly experienced Principal Examiner and Principal Moderator for a major examination body, leading a large number of very popular online and face-to-face conferences detailing the routes to exam success for all A Level students.

Professor Graham Walker

Professor of Political History at Queen’s University Belfast. Born and educated in Glasgow, he has held posts at the Universities of Bristol and Sussex and Birkbeck College London. His areas of expertise in broad terms are those of British and Irish history and politics, more specifically the history and politics of twentieth and twenty-first century Scotland and Northern Ireland. He pursues, in relation to Scotland and Northern Ireland, comparative approaches to questions of constitutional reform and devolution, identity issues around Britishness, and ethno-religious divisions and tensions. Among his publications are ‘Intimate Strangers: Political and Cultural Interaction between Scotland and Ulster’ (1995); ‘A History of the Ulster Unionist Party: Protest, Pragmatism, and Pessimism’ (2004); and ‘The Labour Party in Scotland: Religion, the Union, and the Irish Dimension’ (2016). He has also published biographies of key Scottish and Northern Irish political figures, co-edited ‘A Biographical Dictionary of British Prime Ministers’ (1998), and written widely on football, politics and identity.

Students £25+VAT

One free teacher place for every 10 student places
Additional teachers £35+VAT
Individual teachers £80+VAT