Super-curricular learning is where a student explores their subject beyond what is required by the school or by the exam specification. It is therefore inherently self-motivated, allowing you to explore what you find most interesting, on your own terms. It is most impressive when evidencing a genuine passion for the subject, rather than being just a hasty means of plumping out a UCAS personal statement or preparing for interview.
Politics is a vibrant subject whose content evolves with the fast pace of world events. It therefore benefits particularly well from a great range of super-curricular learning.
. Read quality newspapers and magazines (for free via PressReader)
Through the internet we have easy access to 24-hour news as it happens. You can now check a news website multiple times per day for short snippets of incomplete information as it comes in. You could even get breaking news alerts on your smartphone. Unfortunately, this makes it harder to distinguish the signal from the noise. A better way is to read the news in its static form, updated once a day with a long enough gap after the events that journalists have had time for perspective and context. That means proper newspapers, either in their paper or digital editions.
Did you know that digital editions of many quality newspapers can be viewed for free? In the UK, simply register for membership of your local council library (this can be done online) and then enter the credentials when you visit PressReader. PressReader hosts easily-readable PDFs of thousands of magazines and newspapers, via their website or app. It is usually a paid subscription platform but your local library membership should give you free access.
Of course, as a Politics student you will want to understand current issues from all perspectives – so avoid sticking only to publications that share your ideology. For example, if you read The Guardian then it is fruitful to contrast it with The Daily Telegraph. If you don’t have time to read two or more newspapers a day(!) then comparing the comment sections would be enough to range your thinking beyond one tribal lens.
As an example, the following quality mainstream UK publications are available on PressReader:
For full balance, The Times, The Spectator, The New Statesman and Prospect Magazine also have digital editions but at the time of writing those are not available for free via PressReader library access. Nonetheless, you could check whether your school library provides access to them.
2. Subscribe to free email newsletters
Email newsletters are a low-effort way to keep up with politics and current affairs: they bring the information right to your phone or device. You will find yourself reading them in short bursts during moments of downtime. Here is a curated selection from the many thousands available:
- Tutor2U Politics blog: The team at Tutor2U put great effort into a weekly quiz and updates on course-relevant news that you might have missed.
- ConservativeHome’s Newslinks: Although this is a conservative-compiled newsletter, it covers a wide range of views in its selection of content from across the political spectrum. The email includes extracts from the articles themselves, so you can be well informed in just a few minutes per day without having to click elsewhere.
- LabourList’s daily email: This is a much shorter and more partial digest, but useful accompaniment to ConservativeHome because it provides a directly Labour viewpoint on the day’s issues.
- Politico have a range of informative daily and weekly newsletters on UK, European and US politics.
- Reuters provide various impartial news digests for you to choose from, including this daily briefing.
3. Listen to podcasts
Podcasts are great for multi-tasking: engage your mind while doing chores, walking the dog or going for a run. Here are some highly-rated choices to wisely invest these opportunities:
- Political Thinking with Nick Robinson: This is a slower, more cerebral approach to topical discussion with enough time to understand the interviewee on their own terms.
- The Rest is Politics: Two major figures from either side of the UK divide discuss home and international politics.
- The A Level Politics Show: A student favourite with high ratings for going deeper into the exam syllabus.
- The Week in Westminster: A useful synopsis of what has been happening in Parliament, including clips from the floor and committees.
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government: Independent think tank The Institute for Government leads wonkish conversation on current themes in government.
- Global Security Briefing: Defence think tank The Royal United Services Institute presents expert analysis of world affairs.
- Gresham College lectures: This public institution gives thoroughly informative talks on a broad range of Politics topics and more.
- A History of Political Thought: 45-minute episodes, each covering a key political thinker and their main idea. Now archived but still available for listening.
4. Read classic texts, books and novels
The following are short reads that give maximum benefit from minimal time commitment. Some are classics; others are useful surveys.
- 'The Rule of Law' by Tom Bingham (174 pages) A former Lord Chief Justice outlines how the rule of law is the foundation of a fair society and the best guarantee of responsible government. Easy eight-point introduction to this constitutional concept and how it manifests in modern Britain.
- 'Why Does Inequality Matter?' by T.M. Scanlon (158 pages): Philosophical evaluation of six arguments for equality, and three arguments against it. Examines all the main political concepts of equality. A balanced, reasoned treatment of a potentially emotive topic - one that we have perhaps not considered carefully.
- ‘Who Governs Britain’ by Anthony King (336 pages): A recent 2015 survey of where power and influence lies in the UK, including helpful chapters on judges and the media.
- 'On Liberty' by John Stuart Mill (110 pages): Classic text by a key liberal thinker. One of the foundational arguments for liberalism, by an eminent ethicist and MP.
- 'Reflections on the Revolution in France' by Edmund Burke (293 pages): Classic text by a key conservative thinker. An early statement of British conservatism in the shadow of pre-Terror revolutionary France.
- 'The Communist Manifesto' by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (96 pages): Classic text by a key socialist thinker. Prediction of capitalism's inevitable collapse via their Hegelian theory of history as dialectic. Call for revolutionary socialism towards a free and classless society.
- 'The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli (90 pages): Dubious Renaissance statecraft!
- 'The English Constitution' by Walter Bagehot (199 pages): This 1867 authoritative work analysed what the ephemeral British constitution actually is, and compared it with the USA's presidential alternative. Still relevant and influential today, especially on the role of the monarchy and executive. Coined the distinction between 'dignified' and 'efficient' elements of our constitution.
These longer reads can be digested fully or dipped into depending on your level of commitment:
- 'Gimson's Prime Ministers: Brief Lives from Walpole to May' by Andrew Gimson (300 pages) Entertaining short biographies of all the Prime Ministers from 1721 to 2018. Written by a parliamentary sketch writer.
- 'The Presidents: 250 Years of American Political Leadership' by Iain Dale (576 pages): A critical expert essay on every US President up to 2021, edited by a political publisher and current LBC radio presenter.
- 'Political Ideologies' by Andrew Heywood (308 pages): Well-structured chapters provide a fascinating introduction to the main ideologies, in much better detail than the course textbooks. You can also read beyond the syllabus to learn about other ideologies not on the A-Level course.
- 'The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion' by Jonathan Haidt (460 pages): Proposes to help you understand the values that motivate different political ideologies. It presents the psychological Moral Foundations Theory, which tries to account for differences in western opinion by mapping them to underlying principles of care, fairness, loyalty, liberty, authority and sanctity.
And finally, here is a list of great novels that explore political ideas through narrative:
- 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley: Imagine if you could change human nature to make everyone happy with their place in an unequal hierarchy. Dystopian novel with ethical implications.
- 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand (1,184 pages!) Huge novel that has been especially influential on American libertarians. Illustrates Rand's philosophy of Objectivism through a heroic industrialist's stand against the state.
- 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood: Dystopian exploration of female agency in a totalitarian patriarchy.
- '1984' by George Orwell: The classic surveillance dystopia: Big Brother and the Thought Police.
- 'The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists' by Robert Tressell: Witty classic of the labour movement, revealing the plight of the workers in a capitalist economy.
- 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding: Dark musing on how teenagers might behave in the state of nature, by an English ex-schoolteacher.
- 'Sybil, or The Two Nations' by Benjamin Disraeli: Inter-class romance novel emphasising the moral responsibility of the rich towards the poor, written in 1845 by a future Tory Prime Minister. Led to the term 'One Nation' conservatism.
- 'News from Nowhere', William Morris: You might know William Morris more for his textile patterns, but he was also a socialist thinker. This novel presents his pastoral ideal of a de-industrialised utopia.
5. Watch documentaries
Many of these can be found on YouTube or similar free sites if they are unavailable on the usual streaming platforms. As a last resort, they should be available as DVDs.
- Inside the Commons (2015): Shows what happens behind the scenes in Parliament through fly-on-the-wall camerawork and on-the-spot interviews
- Cabinet Confidential (2001): Granular insight into the workings of the Cabinet with honest interviews and snippets of real meetings.
- Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution (2021): Retrospective analysis including contemporary footage and interviews with the participants themselves.
- Thatcher: A Very British Revolution (2019): Historical retrospective through archive film and testimonies.
- How to Be a Good President (2008): A talking heads analysis of the qualities of US presidential leadership and review of the case studies.
- The War Room (1993): An in-the-room look at the inside workings of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
- Knock Down the House (2019): Following four candidates through the 2018 congressional primaries - including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
6. Complete online courses
‘Massive Open Online Courses’ (MOOCs) give you a taste of university style modules from top universities at your own pace. The videos and accompanying resources tend to be very high quality. The courses are usually accessible for free but often allow paid upgrades to have submissions marked, engage in discussion or to earn a certificate at the end. There are some intriguing Politics examples below, but you can browse a more comprehensive list for all subjects here.
- Justice (Harvard University on edX)
- Moral Foundations of Politics (Yale University on Coursera)
- Discover Political Science (UCLouvain on edX)
- Civic Engagement in American Democracy (Duke University on Coursera)
- Social Norms, Social Change (University of Pennsylvania on Coursera)
- Religion, Conflict and Peace (Harvard University on edX)
- Political Philosophy: An Introduction (University of Florence on Iversity)
- European Culture and Politics (University of Groningen on FutureLearn)
- Global Politics (University of Naples Federico II on edX)
- AI Ethics, Inclusion & Society (University of Glasgow on FutureLearn)
7. Volunteer for a political party
This is obviously not for everyone. Getting involved on a local level helps understand how political campaigns are actually conducted on the ground and can be a surprisingly good way to meet high-profile political figures. Expect to be involved variously in delivering leaflets alongside councillors and MPs, canvassing opinion door-to-door, national by-election campaigns, fundraising and inviting speakers. If you are keen to help, then simply join your preferred political party online and indicate that you are willing to volunteer.
8. Enter essay competitions
Writing helps to order your thoughts and test them against the strongest counterpoints. Exam-style essays can be limiting, but essay competitions encourage you to branch out into longer-form writing and escape the confines of the syllabus. Consider entering Philosophy essay competitions too: the ethical themes are often amenable to the kind of ideas you studied through political ideas in Politics A-Level. Here are three high-profile essay competitions that are open to sixth formers, but many more will be available if you search for them.
- John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize
- R.A. Butler Prize for essays in Politics and International Studies
- LSE Essay Competition ‘Think’ Essay Prize
9. Practise debating and negotiating
Why not enter debate competitions, join Model United Nations conferences and take up any opportunity for public speaking? These are more to do with the skills rather than the content of Politics but is helpful for shining in the classroom and beyond. They open your mind to opposing opinion and develop the appropriate intellectual humility while developing the ability to persuade others. Your school will usually be the best provider of these opportunities, but you can also learn from watching university students debating on society YouTube channels like The Oxford Union’s.
Tutors for Politics University Entrance Admissions
Please do get in touch with Keystone Tutors if you are looking for a Politics tutor to further support your university preparation. Our tutors have extensive experience with admissions tests, interviews and personal statement support for entrance to top UK universities.