Excellence in the Heart of the Community
Wade Deacon Trust
The main aims of the History department are to:
At Key Stage 3 pupils study the following topics: the Middle Ages, Tudors and Stuarts, Britain 1750-1900 with an emphasis on Victorian life, Slavery and the Civil Rights Movement in the USA, Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, World War I and World War II.
We put strong emphasis on developing literacy skills. Pupils learn how to select, collate, organise and present their findings. Research tasks encourage independent investigations. We examine different interpretations of the past and consider the problems posed by different types of evidence. Pupils learn to appreciate the legacy which previous civilisations or generations have left us e.g. the respect we show on Remembrance Day. Our studies reveal what tragedies can happen when prejudice is unchecked e.g. the slave trade and the holocaust.
At Key Stage 4 pupils can opt to take a three year course which leads to a full GCSE in history. We enter pupils for the AQA Modern World specification. Pupils are required to sit two papers. Paper one is entitled Understanding the Modern World. In section A pupils study the USA 1920-1973 and in section B they study Conflict and Tension 1894-1918. Paper two is entitled Shaping the Nation and its focus is on British history. In section A pupils will be examined on Britain Health and the People and in section B Elizabethan England. As part of the study on Elizabethan England pupils also have to complete a site study.
This course gives pupils an understanding of the political, social and economic changes made over the past thousand years. Pupils are encouraged to follow the news and current affairs and to make links between past and present events. The causes and impact of situations relevant today can also be linked to the past and comparisons drawn between them.
The history curriculum helps pupils develop their own identities and to respect each other through the study of history at a personal, local, national and international level. It encourages responsible citizenship and gives positive examples of how people can make a valuable contribution to society. It also encourages pupils to think about British values and the position of Britain today in world affairs. The history department encourages pupils to visit historical sites and learn from them. As part of our enrichment activities and to compliment the GCSE syllabus we travel abroad to visit New York City and Washington DC in and we visit the battlefields of World War One. We will also be visiting the Thackeray Medical Museum and Hardwick Hall as part of our site study programme for KS4.