New · Free · AQA GCSE History

Elizabethan England: a free revision guide that makes pupils recall, not reread

Written for AQA GCSE History, Paper 2, Section B. Eight big questions, each with a 60-second answer, the facts that matter, the key words and a blank box to write it all from memory. Print it as a class set and use it from tomorrow.

31 pages · free to every school

Or look inside first: read the first eight pages

Cover of the Elizabethan England revision guide: a red and white Tudor rose ringed by key dates, beside the title on a navy page

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The first eight pages, free to read here with no watermark. Click a page to read it larger.

Download the whole guide, free

A guide that asks pupils to do something

1

Learn it

Every topic opens with a 60-second answer, then the facts to know. Each fact has a circle to colour: know it, shaky, missing. The key words sit beside them, with a box to tick when a pupil can use the word in a sentence.

2

Use it

Then the page turns to a diagram, the two sides of an argument, the questions the topic could become, and a blank box. Cover both pages and write the answer from memory.

3

Test it

Four model answers with self-marking checklists, a weak-to-strong Question 2, a practice paper to plan in the time AQA advises, and a decision card in every topic where the pupil stands in Elizabeth’s shoes.

Then a page on the historic environment: how to approach whichever site AQA names for the year, with a fact file to fill in. And the whole reign on one page, in a table.

Built to match AQA’s own papers

The question wording follows AQA’s published papers, not a guess at them.
Every point on AQA’s content list for this option is covered.
Key dates were cross-checked against sources such as UK Parliament, The National Archives and Royal Museums Greenwich.
It is an independent resource, not produced or endorsed by AQA.

This is the first edition. If you teach this option and spot anything that should change, tell us at info@empowereducators.co.uk and we will fix it.

Why it is free

We write exam board books for heads of department, and we sell them. This guide is the one we give away. It shows how we work: the content follows the exam board’s own list, the questions follow its own papers, and nothing is there to pad the page count.

If it helps your pupils, the rest of the History shelf is below. If it does not, you have lost nothing.

For the teacher printing it

Print it double-sided; black and white is fine. Use it as a class set, or put it on your school’s own system. A twenty-minute lesson on any topic is set out on the teacher page at the back, and the contents page has a four-week plan.

Please do not pass it to other schools or put it on public websites.

Questions teachers ask

Is it really free?: Yes. We ask for a name and an email address, and one question: would you like to hear about new resources? Yes or no, you get the guide either way.
Which option does it cover?: AQA GCSE History (8145), Paper 2, Section B: Elizabethan England, c1568 to 1603, including the historic environment.
Will it cover my historic environment site?: It teaches how to approach any specified site and gives you a fact file to fill in. AQA changes the site each year, so check aqa.org.uk/history for yours.
Is it written by AQA?: No. It is independent and is not produced or endorsed by AQA.