• knowledge and understanding of chronology, key features of the period, individuals and events
• the second order concepts of continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity and difference and significance.

As you will notice, these skills transfer directly from Key Stage 3. The struggle for History teachers is to ensure that these skills are not neglected in the drive to teach a narrow range of exam techniques. All teachers, including those in 11-16 schools, need to think carefully about the skills required of students at A-level. How will they ensure that their students have the relevant analytical skills and independence to make sense of Key Stage 5?