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History

Our aim is to provide students with a broad and balanced view of History, allowing them to consider different time periods with both overview and depth studies.

We want to instil a love of History in students and a desire to find out more about what has happened in the past that helps to shape today and the future.

Students will learn in different ways and develop their own presentation and written skills. They will become critical readers of information who do not just accept what they see and read at face value, but have the skills to identify what is reliable and what should be questioned.

What will I study?

Year 7

  • The History Time Machine (stopping at 16 points in History)
  • The American Wild West - a clash of cultures
  • Piracy - using historical knowledge to test a film interpretation

Throughout all units students will develop their key history skills, including:

  • Understanding chronology
  • Source analysis
  • Prioritising different factors and reasons

Year 8

The Fight for Rights and Equality
  • The history of slavery
  • Atlantic Slave Trade case study
  • 20th and 21st century experiences in the UK and USA
  • The impact of Victorian London on the crimes of Jack the Ripper
  • How and why were women enfranchised in the 20th century?
World War One
  • What were the causes, key events and consequences of The Great War?
World War Two
  • What were the causes, key turning points and consequences?

Throughout all units students will have the chance to develop their skills learnt in Year 7.

Year 9

Courage
  • How and why did the Holocaust happen and what is its legacy?
Enquiry
  • A study over time into health and medicine
  • How factors have played a role in the development of medicine, surgery, hospitals, public health and attitudes towards disease
Growth
  • Giving students the independence to undertake their own research topic
  • An introduction to important skills including footnoting, using information critically and time management

Year 10 and 11

Germany 1890–1945
  • Germany under the Kaiser
  • The impact of the First World War
  • Democracy in Germany in the 1920s
  • The rise of Hitler and the Nazis
  • Aspects of life in Nazi Germany
Modern Conflict
  • Conflict and tension in Asia 1950–1975
  • The consequences of the Korean and Vietnam Wars
The Normans 1066-c1000
  • The events of 1066
  • What life was like in Norman England
  • A case study of a relevant historical environment e.g. Castle Acre Priory
Health and Medicine
  • Embedding knowledge learnt in Year 9

How will I be assessed?

GCSE Exam Board: AQA
  • Two 2-hour exams at the end of Year 11
  • Paper 1: Germany and Conflict
  • Paper 2: Health and The Normans

What else can I get involved in?

For information on all our enrichment opportunities, please see our enrichment programme here.

What career could I have with a qualification in History?

Courses you could study at university include:

  • Economics
  • History
  • Law
  • Politics
  • Teacher Training

Careers which require a History qualification include:

  • Academic Researcher
  • Archivist
  • Heritage Manager
  • Historic Buildings Inspector
  • Museum Education Officer
  • Museum / Gallery Curator
  • Museum / Gallery Exhibitions Officer