History
The History KS3 curriculum is set up to enable students to understand the world they live in and how it got to this point, the key characters, events, discoveries and inventions that have brought us to this point.
What is taught and how?
History is taught chronologically from the 11th century up to the 21st. We cover British and international History and look at key turning points in the past, everything from the Norman Conquest to the first man on the moon. Students develop their skills through enquiry style lessons using various strategies, resources and skills. Every lesson is a question that students investigate to build an understanding of the past. The skill set is transferable across the curriculum and sets our students up for GCSE should they chose to study History. More details on what is studied in each year can be found below.
Assessment
Students are assessed through regular knowledge testing and interleaving of topics as well as longer answer questions in timed conditions to develop their skills of supporting their evaluation, explanation and argument with relevant and accurate facts.
Homework
Homework focuses on building revision skills and encouraging students to try different methods to see which ones work best for them. Students are provided with revision resources to support them with these homeworks. We also set research homework so they can preview their learning and extend their contextual knowledge of the topic.
Students follow a chronological study from 1066 and the Battle of Hastings through to the rise of the Tudors and the reign of Elizabeth I. They study key events from this period focusing on the themes of ‘Power and the People’, ‘Everyday Life’ and the ‘Wider World’, including topics like William I’s control of England; the murder of Thomas Becket; the Magna Carta; the Peasants’ Revolt; Robin Hood; the Black Death; the Wars of the Roses; the Reformation and the Spanish Armada.
Year 8
Students follow a chronological study from 1601 and the reign of James I through the reign of Victoria and into the modern world by looking at the causes and events of WW1. They study key events from this period focusing on the themes of ‘Power and the People’ and ‘Everyday Life’, including topics like the Gunpowder Plot; the English Civil War; Oliver Cromwell- ‘hero or villain?’; highwaymen; smugglers; transportation; the Slave Trade; Victorian Britain; the Industrial Revolution; the sinking of the Titanic and the causes and events of WW1.
Year 9
Students follow a chronological study from 1918 through to modern history. They study key events from this period focusing on the themes of ‘Power and the People’ and ‘Everyday Life’, including topics like the Treaty of Versailles; the League of Nations; the Suffragettes; the Russian Revolution; the rise of the dictators-Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler; the causes of WW2; the experience of people during WW2; the Holocaust; Hiroshima; the Cold War; the assassination of JFK; Civil Rights in the US and modern terrorism.
Year 10
Students follow the Eduqas GCSE syllabus. Year 10 focuses on the Development of the USA 1929-2000 module and Changes in Crime and Punishment c. 500- present day. Which includes the Historic Environment question linked to a specific element of the course. Regular subject knowledge tests take place with regular interweaving of exam questions, revision techniques and exam skills into the subject content.
Year 11
Students complete the Eduqas GCSE syllabus and Year 11 focuses on the Elizabethan Age 1558-1603 and Germany in Transition 1919-1939. Regular subject knowledge tests take place with regular interweaving of exam questions, revision techniques and exam skills into the subject content. Revision lessons take place once the course is complete and this is developed based on the needs of the Year 11 students each year.
All KS4 students are given booklets to support their class work and building their knowledge of the 4 modules, exam skills booklets in which they practice and refine their exam skills as they go through the course and revision booklets designed to support them with their key knowledge for all 4 modules.