Cambridge International AS & A Level History (9489) What you need to know The Cambridge International AS & A Level History (9489) syllabus is changing. This factsheet gives an overview of the main changes and explains how our resources will support you and your students with the updated syllabus for examination from 2027. To develop our revised syllabus and new published resources series, we talked with history teachers and educational experts in Cambridge and globally. Their insights have helped us develop a syllabus and resources that encourage students to accelerate their learning and develop skills for life.
Important information From 2027, this syllabus will not be available to schools in the US. We have created new qualification routes specifically for the US.
Cambridge International AS Level Key change The AS Level subject content has been revised for each option on Paper 1 and Paper 2. Key questions have been reviewed and amended, some content has been added and some content removed. We have added more details to each topic to make the syllabus content clearer. The AS Level topics for each of the options have been reduced from four topics to three: • European option – Industrial Revolution in Britain, 1750–1850 has been removed. • International option – China and Japan, 1912–45 has been removed. • American option – the amended content has been restructured into three topics.
What this means for you
How we support you
We have revised the subject content, removing the least popular topics.
We have added specific support for addressing language barriers to help you help students who may struggle with the language demands of historical study.
The further detail added to the syllabus to exemplify the content will help understanding of the scope of the topics. While the content may look different, many sections remain largely the same.
We have rewritten the mark schemes for Papers 1 and 2 to clarify what examiners expect in candidate responses. While the style of questions remains unchanged, these enhancements will support you in preparing students more effectively for their exams.
cambridgeinternational.org/advanced
Each AS Level topic (European and International options only) now has its own chapter in the new coursebooks, with added detail to clarify teaching points. There will also be specimen papers and mark schemes, specimen paper answers, learner guides and schemes of work that include guidance on working with sources to support your teaching on our School Support Hub. There will be updated specimen mark schemes available on the School Support Hub.
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