Aims

Years 7 - 9

The Key Stage 3 History curriculum aims to give students a solid foundation in the history of Britain and of the wider world. We also aim to build key historical skills such as the critical use of evidence.

Below is a brief summary of what students can expect to learn in Years 7-9.

Year 7:

• How should we remember the workhouse?
• How has migration changed England 500BC-Present?
• Who was more powerful in the Middle Ages – the Church or the Crown?
• Why was the Black Death so significant?

Year 8:

• What caused the English Reformation, and why was it so significant?
• What caused the English Civil Wars?
• Who were the Plains Indians?
• How should we remember the British Empire?
• Why couldn’t the police catch ‘Jack the Ripper’?

Year 9:

• What caused the First World War?
• Could the Second World War have been avoided?
• Why did the Holocaust happen?
• What was the Cold War?
• How should we remember Sir Harry Smith?

Years 10 - 11

Students who opt for History will follow the Edexcel GCSE specification.

• Medicine in Britain, 1250-present
• The British sector of the Western Front, 1914-1918: surgery and treatment
• Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060-88
• The American West, c1835-1876
• The USA, 1954-75: conflict at home and abroad

Students will be assessed through 3 exams which take place at the end of Year 11.

Sixth Form

At A-level, students follow the OCR specification.

• Unit 1 – The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603-1660
• Unit 2 – Russia 1894-1941
• Unit 3 – Popular Culture and the Witchcraze of the 16^th and 17^th centuries
• Unit 4 – Free choice of coursework on a topic that interests students (subject to teacher approval)

Additional Information

The History department tries to enrich historical understanding by running trips. Trips completed in the past include:

• The Somme area, France
• Norwich castle