Departments: History
THE HISTORY CURRICULUM
History is the study of past events, people and places. Students study a variety of topics covering British, European and World history, these include:
KEY STAGE 3 |
Year 7 |
Integrated humanities course incorporating history, geography and religious studies. The course also focuses on a skills based approach to learning and becoming an independent learner. Topics include: Who am I?; Where do we belong?; What is my place in the World; How do we solve a problem like...?; Whose power is it anyway?; How can I shine?
Click here to see details about the new Humanities programme |
Year 8 |
The Reformation (Tudors); the Stuarts (Gunpowder Plot and The Civil War); the slave trade; children in the mills during the Industrial Revolution; Protest and Franchise: how did women get the vote? |
Year 9 |
The First World War; the Treaty of Versailles and inter-war period; Nazi Germany and the Holocaust; Genocide in Rwanda; Weapons of Mass Destruction (dropping of the Atomic Bomb) the Cold War; Terrorism. |
KEY STAGE 4 (GCSE) |
The GCSE consists of 2 exam papers, both taken in the summer term of Year 11 and a piece of coursework worth 25% of the final grade, which is completed in school under controlled conditions at the start of the Autumn term in Year 11. |
Year 10 & 11 |
The American West 1840-1895: An in-depth study of an exciting and important period of America's history. (Exam topic)
Medicine Through Time: Why do things change? Why do they sometimes stay the same for centuries? How do people influence history? This modul examines how medical advances have changed our world. (Exam topic)
History around us: The visible remains of the past can teach us as much about history as books. In this part of the course you will make your own personal study of three local castles. (Coursework 25%) |
KEY STAGE 5 (AS & A2 Level) |
AS and A2 Level students have two teachers in history, each teaching students a different section of the course.
The AS Level exam consists of two papers, both taken during the summer term. One is based on their study of British history and the other European. Each paper is 50% of the AS grade and 25% of the A2.
The A2 course consists of 2 sections, one a study of India which is an extended coursework essay and the other a study of the Soviet Union which is examined in the summer term. The coursework is 20% of the overall grade for A2 and the exam 30%. |
Year 12 |
British History: The Conservative Collapse 1902-1906, Liberals and Social and Constitutional Reform, Challenges to Liberalism at home, Challenges to Liberalism from abroad, Liberalism and the First World War.
European History: Totalitarian Ideology in Theory and Practice 1848-1941 (Stalin's Russia, Mussolini's Italy, Hitler's Germany) |
Year 13 |
India Coursework: 1847-1947 Indian Independence and Partition. This is assessed as an historical enquiry of 3500 words.
European History: Triumph and Collapse: Russia and the USSR 1941-1991 (the regimes of Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev) |
ASSESSMENT
Throughout Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 students are assessed on their historical understanding of a topic. This is done through a number of genres at Key Stage 3 including essays, story writing and newspaper reports and through exam practice and essay writing in Key Stage 4 and 5.
Students are assessed on a number of historical skills including: Knowledge and understanding; use of source material, understanding different interpretations and causation. They are encouraged to develop their skills of analysis and judgement which are essential for success at GCSE and A-Level.
Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning through a variety of activities which are designed to meet the needs of all learning styles including group work, role play, individual tasks and source based work. They are also encouraged to use the internet to research and broaden their knowledge. Some excellent websites include: On this day and The National Archives.
ENJOYING HISTORY
In history we use a wide variety of stimuli to inspire and encourage our students to be active participants in our lessons. These include: pictures, cartoons, written sources, films, documentaries, newspapers and music.
We also like to bring history to life for the students by taking them out of the classroom. Our trips include a visit to the Imperial War Museum for pupils in Year 9 and visits to Warwick, Kenilworth and Ludlow as part of our GCSE course. We feel strongly that taking learning out of the classroom is a fantastic experience for both pupils and teachers.
History Staff:
Head of Faculty: Mr Snart
Mrs Chandley
Miss Powell
Dr Pyne
Mrs Weaver
Mr Webster
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