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 1 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 2 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. 3 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” 4 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. 5 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. 6 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 7 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 8 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 9 • The Art of Strategy, Avinash Dixit & Barry Nalebuff • Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems, Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo 10 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. 11 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 12 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 13 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