What is the OCR History Around Us study, and how is it examined?
The nature and purpose of the History Around Us site study, the centre-chosen historic site, the focus on physical features and significance, and the structure of Paper 2 including the SPaG marks.
A focused answer to OCR's History Around Us site study, explaining what the study is, why centres choose their own historic site, the focus on physical features and significance, and the structure of Paper 2 (40 marks plus 10 for SPaG).
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point introduces OCR's History Around Us study, the whole of Paper 2. Unlike the other components, OCR does not set a national topic: your school chooses a historic site to study in depth. You need to understand what the study is, why it focuses on physical features and significance, and how Paper 2 is structured (including its SPaG marks), so that you can apply the skills to whatever site you have studied.
What the study is
Why the site is centre-chosen
What you study about the site
The structure of Paper 2
Try this
Q1. How long is Paper 2, and how many marks is it worth (including SPaG)? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. 1 hour; 40 marks plus 10 SPaG marks, making 20% of the GCSE.
Q2. Explain why OCR lets each school choose its own site. [Short explanation]
- Cue. So students can carry out real, first-hand investigation of a nearby historic place they can visit, testing the skills of reading a site and judging its significance rather than memorising a fixed national topic.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR SHP 20194 marksDescribe two features of your studied site that show its original purpose.Show worked answer →
The History Around Us opener (4 marks, two features, 2 marks each). Reward two precise physical features of your own studied site, each linked to its original purpose. Because the site is chosen by your centre, use the specific site you studied.
Feature one. Identify a physical feature and what it was for, for example thick defensive walls and arrow slits at a castle, built for defence against attack.
Feature two. Identify a second distinct feature and its purpose, for example a great hall for feasting and displaying the lord's status, or a gatehouse controlling entry.
Top marks. Two separate, accurate features of your actual site, each tied to its purpose, not a general description.
OCR SHP 20218 marksExplain why historians study physical remains as well as written sources when investigating a site.Show worked answer →
The "Explain why" question (8 marks). Reward developed reasons about the value of physical evidence.
Reason one. Physical remains are direct, surviving evidence from the past: the stones, layout and building methods show how a site was actually built and used, sometimes where no written record exists.
Reason two. They can confirm, challenge or fill gaps in written sources, revealing changes over time (added wings, blocked doorways, ruins) that documents may not mention.
Reason three. Some periods or buildings left few or no written records, so the physical site is the main or only evidence, making careful "reading" of the remains essential.
Top band. Connect each reason to why physical evidence matters and judge the most important.
Related dot points
- How to use the layout, building materials, design and changes of a site as historical evidence, the value and limits of physical remains, and how to combine physical evidence with written and visual sources.
A focused answer to reading physical evidence in OCR's History Around Us study, covering how to use a site's layout, materials, design and changes as historical evidence, the value and limits of physical remains, and how to combine them with written and visual sources.
- The meaning of historical significance for a site, how a site connects to the wider history of its period, how and why interpretations of a site differ, and how to evaluate which view is more convincing.
A focused answer to significance and interpretations in OCR's History Around Us study, covering what historical significance means for a site, how a site links to the wider history of its period, how and why interpretations differ, and how to judge which is more convincing.
- The Paper 2 question types and mark tariffs, how to answer the describe, explain and source questions, how to plan and write the extended judgement, and how to earn the 10 SPaG marks through specialist terminology.
A focused answer to exam technique for OCR's History Around Us paper, covering the Paper 2 question types and mark tariffs, how to answer the describe, explain and source questions, how to plan the extended judgement, and how to earn the 10 SPaG marks.
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