OCR A Level History A Early Stuarts 2025 Question Paper

Download the official OCR A-Level History A The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660 question paper for the June 2025 examination series (Y108/01). This advanced OCR History paper explores Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, the Putney Debates, the Personal Rule, religious divisions, parliamentary conflict, and the English Civil War within the OCR A-Level History specification.

Section A focuses on The Execution of Charles I and the Interregnum 1646–1660 and requires students to analyse historical sources concerning whether divisions amongst Charles I’s opponents were the main reason negotiations failed during 1646 and 1647. The paper includes source evaluation, provenance analysis, and contextual interpretation using evidence from Charles I’s correspondence, Presbyterian critics, Cromwell’s speeches, and accounts of negotiations between the king and the Army.

Section B contains thematic essay questions examining whether peace was the most important aim of James I’s foreign policy and the reasons for the breakdown of the Personal Rule. Students are required to evaluate historical interpretations, analyse causation and significance, and construct balanced historical arguments supported by detailed historical evidence.

This official June 2025 paper includes source-based analysis tasks and thematic essay questions requiring historical reasoning, chronological understanding, interpretation skills, and sustained judgement under timed examination conditions. Topics explored include Charles I, Henrietta Maria, Cromwell, the Levellers, the Putney Debates, James I, Buckingham, Personal Rule, and the causes of the English Civil War between 1603 and 1660. Pair it with the matching Y108/01 mark scheme on markscheme.net for complete examiner-style revision and worked-answer support. Updated for the 2025/2026 academic year, optimised for mobile and desktop, and instantly downloadable from markscheme.net — your fastest route to top-grade OCR A-Level History revision.

This document is designed for A-Level students studying OCR History A The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660, including Year 13 candidates preparing for the 2026 examination series, retake students targeting A/A* grades, independent learners, and home-schooled students revising Stuart England and the English Civil War.

It is also highly useful for teachers, private tutors, revision-course providers, and parents supporting OCR History revision at home. Use this official OCR question paper for timed mock examinations, source-evaluation exercises, essay-planning practice, historiography workshops, and examiner-standard preparation using authentic OCR assessment materials.