On this page you will find History Grade 12 Exam Guidelines Scope for 2025 final exams.
The guidelines cover Paper 1, Paper 2, and Paper 3. Learners will write Paper 1 on 30 October 2025, Paper 2 on 4 November 2025, and Paper 3 on 7 November 2025. Each paper tests both source-based and essay questions across major 20th-century and South African history themes.
History Grade 12 Exam Guidelines Scope 2025 – What to Expect
The History final examination is divided into two sections per paper:
- Section A: Source-Based Questions
- Section B: Essay Questions
For each topic, one source-based question and one essay question will be set. Learners must answer according to the exam instructions for each paper.
Paper 1 – Global Conflicts and Civil Rights
Date: Thursday, 30 October 2025
Duration: 3 hours
Marks: 150
Topics Covered:
- The Cold War
- Origins of the Cold War after World War II.
- Containment, Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan, Berlin Crisis, NATO, Warsaw Pact.
- Who was responsible for the Cold War?
- Extension of the Cold War – Vietnam
- Stages of the Vietnam War (1957–1975).
- Vietnamese vs USA perspectives.
- USA withdrawal and its impact.
- Independent Africa – Case Studies: Angola and the Congo
- Angola: independence, civil war, Cold War interventions, Cuito Cuanavale.
- Congo: political, economic, and social challenges after independence.
- Civil Society Protests, 1950s–1970s (USA)
- US Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King Jr, passive resistance, protests, desegregation, long-term gains.
- Black Power Movement: Malcolm X, Black Panther Party, Stokely Carmichael, Huey Newton, long-term gains.
Paper 2 – South Africa: Apartheid, Resistance, and Democracy
Date: Tuesday, 4 November 2025
Duration: 3 hours
Marks: 150
Topics Covered:
- Civil Resistance, 1970s–1980s: South Africa
- Crisis of apartheid in the 1980s.
- Tri-cameral system, internal resistance, UDF, trade unions, mass democratic movement, Black Sash.
- Black Consciousness and Steve Biko.
- Soweto Uprising and its legacy.
- Coming of Democracy and the TRC
- Negotiations (1989–1994), GNU, political violence.
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission: purpose, amnesty debates, human rights violations, reparations, party responses.
- The End of the Cold War and a New World Order
- Gorbachev’s reforms, fall of the Berlin Wall, disintegration of USSR.
- Impact on South Africa and transition.
- Globalisation, BRICS, and balance of power.
Paper 3 – South African History in Depth
Date: Friday, 7 November 2025
Duration: 3 hours
Marks: 150
Paper 3 focuses on in-depth South African case studies, expanding on themes already introduced in Paper 2. Topics include:
- Black Consciousness in greater detail.
- Trade unions and civil society mobilisation.
- Negotiated settlement and transition to democracy.
- TRC case studies and debates around reconciliation.
Conclusion
The History Grade 12 Exam Guidelines Scope for 2025 ensures learners are prepared for all three papers. Paper 1 on 30 October covers global Cold War conflicts and civil rights movements. Paper 2 on 4 November focuses on apartheid resistance, the coming of democracy, and South Africa’s link to the Cold War. Paper 3 on 7 November gives an in-depth focus on South Africa’s struggle and transition to democracy. Learners must prepare by practising both source-based analysis and essay writing, revising case studies, and connecting historical events to their broader contexts.
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