The History Department

Departmental Staff

Mr A Chan
Head of Humanities
Mrs M Parker
Head of Year 7
Ms N Sarsby
Teacher of History

Departmental Aims

We aim to provide students with a broad and varied history curriculum.  All of the topic areas are designed to teach students a wide range of skills.  Studying History will empower students to have knowledge of past peoples, societies and events, as well as encouraging the development of transferable skills such as hard work, discipline and good organisation.  History teaches students to be independent, critical and analytical thinkers.

We give students the opportunity to learn in ways which best fit with their learning style through a variety of teaching methods, which include role plays, drama, class debates, quizzes, design and building, persuasive pamphlets and leaflets, posters, cartoon strips, board games, hot seating and extended writing.

Studying history will:

  • Give students an understanding of the world around them.
  • Show students how a study of the past can aid their understanding of the present.
  • Develop student’s literacy and numeracy skills.
  • Give students an understanding about continuity and change.
  • Help stimulate and challenge students thinking skills.
  • Enable students to express and communicate their ideas in a clear and articulate way, both orally and in writing.
  • Teaches students to be independent, critical thinkers.
  • Involve students working with a variety of sources such as films, television, photographs, pictures, artefacts, diaries, letters, and other written sources.
  • Be carried out in a comfortable, friendly and well resourced environment which celebrates success and achievement.

Resources

The History department has two dedicated classrooms with good ICT and whiteboard facilities.  A third classroom is pending.  There is an excellent range of software, DVD and video for classroom lessons, or for students

Curriculum

KS3

YEAR 7: Britain 1066-1500
Term 1: Introduction to History
This unit will enable students to understand why History is such an important subject to study.  It will also give students an understanding of some of the key historical skills that they will be developing while studying History.
Term 2: The Norman Conquest
This unit will focus on the momentous events that led up to the Battle of Hastings, which transformed the fortunes of England forever and marked the end of Anglo-Saxon culture.  The Bayeux Tapestry will be studied as a source for this topic.
Term 3: William’s Consolidation of Power
This unit will focus on how William managed to seize and maintain control of England after he was made King.  This will address issues such as the speed and scale of rebellions across England, the feudal system and Domeday Book and the development of castles.
Term 4: Life in Medieval England
This unit will focus on the everyday experiences of Englishmen in town and country.  Some of the topics covered are medieval crime and punishment, medicine, food and entertainment.
Term 5: Church and State
This unit will focus on the relationship between the Church and the monarch.  This will include a study of Thomas Becket, the Magna Carta and Simon de Montfort.
Term 6: The Black Death and Peasants Revolt
This unit will examine the causes and consequences behind the Black Death and its effects in England and Europe.
YEAR 8: Britain 1500-1750
Terms 1-2: The Wars of the Roses and the Tudors
This unit will introduce students to the political, social and economic changes that took place between 1500-1750. It will then examine the life and times of Henry III and explore issues such as the English Reformation.
Term 3: Elizabeth I
This unit will focus on the reign of Elizabeth I and the problems that faced her regarding succession, gender and religion. It will also include an in-depth study of the Spanish Armada, 1588.
Term 4: James I and the Gunpowder Plot
This unit will focus on the reputation of James I and the controversy behind the Gunpowder Plot: Catholic threat or government stitch-up?
Term 5: The English Civil War
This unit will study the causes and consequences of the division between Royalists and Roundheads. It will include events during the civil war and the consequences after it: the Interregnum and the restoration of Charles II. 
Term 6: Witchcraft
This unit will assess the reasons behind the witch-craze of the 16th century with events in England, Europe and America.
YEAR 9: Britain 1750-1900
Term 1: The Industrial Revolution
This unit will focus on the reasons behind, the development of, and the effects of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.  It will include a study of farming, the iron and coal industries and new inventions.
Term 2: Jack the Ripper
This unit will focus on the effects of urbanisation in respect to a case study of Jack the Ripper.
Term 3: The First World War
This unit will focus on the causes of WWI and the experiences of men and women who fought it on the Western Front and the Home Front.  It will include a study of propaganda posters.
Term 4: The Rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany
This unit will focus on the development of Germany in the 1920s and 1930s and its transformation from a Weimar Republic to a totalitarian state.
Term 5: The Second World War
This unit will study the causes of WWII and give a brief overview of some of the major events during the war: the Battle of Britain and Dunkirk, the invasion of Russia and the Normandy Landings.
Term 6:  The Holocaust or A-Bomb Depth Study
This unit will focus non the experiences of Jewish people in Nazi Germany and their subsequent extermination in the death camps of Europe.  Alternatively, students will examine the rationale behind the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

KS4

GCSE Modern World History (OCR)
Year 10
Term 1: The Treaty of Versailles
This module will focus on the aims of the Big Three after the war and the effects of the peace treaties on Germany and her allies.  German reaction to the treaty will be examined.
Term 2: The League of Nations
This module will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the League of Nations and the impact it had on international relations in the 1920s and 1930s.  Topics studied will include the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.
Term 3: The Causes of the Second World War
This module will study Hitler’s foreign aims and the causes behind the deteriorating relationship between Britain, France and Germany.  There will be a study of appeasement and the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
Term 4: The USA, 1919-1941 – ‘What was the Boom’?
This module will examine the reasons behind the American economic boom of the 1920s and explore men like Henry Ford.
Term 5: The USA, 1919-1941 – ‘The Roaring Twenties’
This module will explore the ‘light side’ and the ‘dark side’ of America in the 1920s.  Topic will include the red Scare, the KKK and the Monkey Trial, as well as Prohibition.
Term 6: The USA, 1919-1941 – ‘The Wall Street Crash’
This module will evaluate the reasons behind the Wall St Crash and the impact of the Great Depression on American life in the 1930s.
Year 11
Term 1: The USA, 1919-1941 – ‘The New Deal’
This module will assess Roosevelt’s successes and failures in dealing with the Great Depression.
Term 2: Coursework – Assignment 1: The First World War
Students need to complete three questions on aspects of WWI.
Term 3: Coursework – Assignment 2: Haig – the butcher of the Somme?
Students will examine and evaluate a series of sources about the reputation of Douglas Haig and the bloodbath that was the Battle of the Somme.
Term 4: Britain, 1906-1918 – ‘The Liberal Reforms’
This module will examine the reasons behind the social reforms of the Liberal government between 1906-1912 for children, workers and the aged.
Term 5: Britain, 1906-1912 – ‘Votes for Women’
This module will focus on the Suffragettes and Suffragists fight for the vote between 1906-1918.
Term 6: Britain, 1906-1918 – ‘The Home Front’
This module will explore life on the Home Front during WWI and the experiences of those left behind.

KS5

Year 12
British Study:‘Church and State, 1529-1589’
European Study: ‘Democracy and Dictatorship in Germany, 1933-1963’
Year 13
Themes in History: ‘The Changing Nature of Warfare, 1789-1945’
Course work:
Interpretations:‘Napoleon I, 1795-1815’ or ‘The Causes of WWII, 1918-1941’
Investigations: ‘The Cold War, 1941-56’
Visits
  • Year 7: Tower of London and London Bridge
  • Year 8: Hampton Court
  • Year 9: Normandy Beaches
  • Year 10: Berlin / Krakow
  • Year 11: Berlin / Krakow
  • Year 12: New York / Beijing / Tokyo
  • Year 13: New York / Beijing / Tokyo
Enrichment
  • Year 7: Arriere Bans
  • Year 8: Time Tunnel
  • Year 10: Black History Day
  • Year 12: SOAS and conferences
  • Year 13: SOAS and conferences

Parent Booklets

To read these documents you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader..Download Acrobat Reader