History

Key Stage 3 History follows a chronological approach that embeds and revisits key themes and concepts, such as power, empire, conflict, monarchy, protest, equality, significance, warfare and legacy. Students begin with a baseline assessment of their understanding of key historical skills such as source work, significance and chronology. This allows us to support students and ensure that more focus is given to this particular skill. Students learn about the chronology of Britain from the invasion by the Romans, the invasion of Britain by various different groups, through to the Battle of Hastings, and life in Medieval England, with a focus on the development of castles and warfare. This compliments later GCSE studies on ‘Warfare through Time’ and is illustrated with a visit to Warwick Castle. We also assess the impact of the Black Death on Britain. The year concludes with a focus on the significance of the early Tudor monarchs.

Year 8 begins with an analysis of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, focusing on her Religious Settlement and the reasons for the defeat of the Spanish Armada. They then conclude their Tudor studies with a reflection of the significance of the Tudor dynasty. Students then move on to a study of Britain’s transformation into a major world power during the Industrial Revolution. This is followed by the reasons for the development and power of the British Empire, its impact on Britain and those colonised, and the legacy of the Empire. Studied because of its significance and relevance, the topic is picked up again at A Level. This is followed by a enquiry into the reasons for and impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Year 8 is concluded with a ‘change over time’ unit on how protest movements developed, with an exploration of their impact. It is crucial for their understanding for the struggle for women's’ rights and the struggles in India, America and South Africa against racial discrimination. As well as this, these topics are revisited at A Level in the study of our ‘Britain transformed, 1918-1997’ and ‘The USA: Conformity and Challenge 1955-1992’ units.

Students focus on the major developments of 20th century world history, beginning with a thorough study on the causes of the First World War. We then look at the First World War from a global perspective, showing students that it was far more than a European conflict in trenches in France. This is followed by a focus on trench warfare and the weapons used and developed during this time period, because students study the development of ‘Warfare through time, 1250-present day’, at GCSE. We spend a day visiting the First World War site of Ypres to enable students to appreciate trench warfare first hand. Students examine the treatment of Germany at the Treaty of Versailles, a key focus at GCSE, and the rise of fascist and communist political parties across Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union. Students study the causes and turning points of the Second World War. This is because it again compliments the ‘Warfare through time’ unit at GCSE, is important to understanding the early development of the Cold War, and is also studied in depth at A Level. Students conclude Year 9 with a focus study on the Holocaust, focusing on life Jewish life and experiences before and after. Year 9 concludes with an analysis of how much justice there was for the victims of the Holocaust.

Students begin with the Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-1939 unit, enabling them to revisit the Year 9 topics of Germany’s defeat in the war and the impact of the Treaty of Versailles. Germany’s turbulent history is studied in detail, beginning with its emergence as a defeated nation to its transition into a fascist dictatorship under Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. This is followed by the study of the Superpower relations and the Cold War 1941-1991. This fascinating unit charts the development of the Cold War, through its major flashpoints and to its rapid collapse. At the start of Year 11, students study Early Elizabethan England 1558-1588, assessing Queen Elizabeth’s success as an unmarried, Protestant, female monarch, seen by many as illegitimate. Students conclude their studies with the breadth study of Warfare through time 1250-present, which supports students in understanding the bigger picture and change over time of warfare and the experience of this, demonstrated through several case studies of major British battles.

In Year 12, our students follow Edexcel Route H: Democracies in change, studying the key social, political, cultural and economic changes in 20th century Britain and America. It provides our students with more opportunities to study history from a diverse range of perspectives and experiences.

Students will explore to what extent Britain transformed 1918-1997. Key legislation and events that impacted Britain economically, politically, racially and socially will be considered and evaluated. This is particularly interesting as there are very clear parallels with current affairs today. Students also assess the impact of Thatcher’s government on Britain and learn how to reconcile the different historical interpretations that exist about her government’s policies.

The study of the USA: Affluence and Conformity, 1955-1992 allows students to learn in depth about the development of the American civil rights movement, teenage culture and wider protest movements. They examine the extent to which there was a political and social crisis in the 1970s, and evaluate the impact of Ronald Reagan’s conservative policies on the American people.

In Year 13, students study the causes and turning points of the Second World War. They look at the evacuation from Dunkirk, major turning points. the Blitz Spriit and whether the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified. Students also study the debate over whether the Holocaust was pre-planned by the Nazi dictatorship, or if such a barbaric policy developed over time. They write their coursework on a chosen aspect of this, assessing the contrasting views of historians, evaluating historiography with their own research and concluding the debate with their well argued point.

Britain: Losing and gaining an Empire, 1763-1914 allows the opportunity to study the rise of the British Empire in great depth. Students examine the importance of trade routes and the Royal Navy in the development of the empire and look at how policies changed due to the abolition of slavery, new economic theories and technological development.. They also discover the route to America's road to independence from 1770-83, the birth of British Australia 1788-1829, Canada and the Durham report 1837-40, India 1829-1858 and the Nile Valley 1882-98. We study the development of British rule in depth, as well as the treatment of the indigenous populations and how they rose up to try and gain their independence.