History

Department Overview

Students study a range of history from Britain and around the globe. Our mission is to engage students with various historical narratives and enquiries from 1066 to the present day. We deliver and ask students to ‘think’ about key events and moments from British, European and world history. Throughout the journey, students develop key historical skills:

· Change and continuity

· Cause and consequence

· Significance

· Sources

· Interpretations

· Similarities and differences

Key Stage 3

Students begin with an introduction to history by looking at historical skills and linking them to the Roman Empire. Following on from this students embark on the events of 1066 and the Norman Conquest of England. Students then embark on a historical journey through the Middle Ages and into the Tudor period and beyond to the Stuarts and the execution of Charles I.

Year 8 students cover the story of Britain during it’s time as an Industrial giant. The first topic is the African slave trade and onto the Mughal Empire and then the British Empire – highlighting and debating the impact of these empires. Then students focus on the the narrative of the Industrial Revolution and what it was like to live at this time with a focus on the medical developments.

Year 9 provides students with a very modern historical experience, covering the world wars and inter-wars years. There is also a detailed insight into the Holocaust because as Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” One of the main ways that we can prevent such a terrible act is by educating the future, which is why the final topic looks at how the freedoms and rights of different groups have changed in the twentieth century. Students also investigate some British heroes and the murders of Jack the Ripper. These units create the appropriate springboard into the demanding GCSE course.