History
‘Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it’
George Santanaya
As a department we have the following aims and ambitions for our students:
Welcome to the History Department – Subject Leader: Mrs N Picariello
Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3 History is taught in mixed ability sets for one hour a week. The curriculum provides an excellent grounding in the subject, and provides students with the foundation skills required for study at GCSE. An innovative, thematic approach has been adopted, allowing students to appreciate change over time and compare and contrast periods, whilst having a chronological understanding.
Programmes of study include:
Year 7: ‘Monarchs, Monks and Migrants’
What is History?
The Norman Conquest
Religion in Medieval England
Problems of Medieval Monarchs
The Black Death
We finish the year with a case study: Migration – who were the first English people? This allows students to adopt a thematic approach across a wide time period to explore this important theme.
Year 8: ‘Cavaliers, Colonies and Coal’
Challenges to the Catholic Church
The English Civil War
Changing ideas :1660 – 1789
The slave trade
The British Empire
Impact of the Industrial Revolution
We finish with a case study: Would you have survived the Industrial Revolution?
Year 9: ‘Trenches, Treaties and Terror’
Getting the vote
The First World War
Conflict in the Twentieth Century
The Holocaust
The Post-WW2 World
We end the year with a case study which explores how change has been achieved across the twentieth century.
Parents / carers can play a huge role in supporting the study of History. Whether at KS3 or KS4, we would encourage you to ask what is currently being studied, prompt discussions of the key issues, and take an active interest. We are always happy to recommend books, films, or trips that can support each element of the History curriculum. Parents can discuss with the students how they plan to manage their time for the home learning tasks. We strongly encourage students to gain background research from books rather than the internet as it is often age-inappropriate for students. The school library is well stocked and the librarians are more than willing to help students find their way to useful books, although encouraging students to use local libraries and books at home would also support us in this. Visiting historical sites and encouraging discussion about the topics studied in class is also useful.How parents/carers can support learning