What will I study?
You will begin your study of GCSE History with an exploration of England in the 1060s and the Norman Conquest of 1066. You will examine the “Era of the Cold War”. This involves a study of the causes of the Cold War: After being friends for the duration of the Second World War why did America and the Soviet Union fall out?; Three Cold War Crises that brought the world to the edge of a nuclear war and why the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Next you will explore crime and punishment across a 1000 years of British History with a focus on the Jack the Ripper murders in 1888. After this the focus shifts. You will explore Germany after the First World War and the rise of the Nazis. Exploring what life was like in Germany under Hitler. You will sit three exams at the end of Year 11. Opportunities for trips include—New York and Washington DC, Berlin and London.
What skills will I need to progress onto this course?
You need to be good at English because you will have to be prepared to answer questions by giving detailed answers. You will need to be motivated and prepared to work hard and be challenged.
BUT—the main thing is that you are interested and want to know more about what happened in the past.
What skills will I develop?
You will develop your knowledge and understanding; You will develop your ability to ask questions; You will develop your ability to use sources critically to reach substantiated judgements; You will learn to organise and communicate your knowledge and understanding. You will learn how to see links between people, events and ideas and how they created the world in which you live today.
What careers can a qualification in this course lead to?
History is good for any career. Employers and universities like to see History as one of your GCSE subjects because it shows that you are capable of learning and that you will have learned skills which can be useful in lots of different jobs and further studies.