Mission Statement

Our intent is to give all students a broad and balanced view of local, national, European and world History, through a knowledge rich curriculum. We challenge students to make sense of the similarities and differences in human experiences across time and place, and how the past, and changing accounts of the past, shapes the identities of diverse people, groups and nations. Essentially, we want to improve our students’ understanding of the world around them and how it came to be this way.

We also seek to show students how historians construct accounts about the past, using sources and challenging or refining the work of others. This is to improve the students’ understanding of what History is – a living thing, rather than just a set of facts to be learned. Through developing this understanding, we aim to inspire students’ curiosity about the past, and to equip them with the ability to ask perceptive questions and think critically about the world in which they live, as well as judge and weigh evidence to develop their own perspective and interpretation of the past. We wrestle with a variety of social and moral issues which examine many of our Tudor Values, but especially those of tolerance, unity, democracy, and respect.

Ultimately our aim is to instil a passion for History, and to give students a window into their own identity as well as the challenges of their time.

Overview of Key Stage Three

During years 7, 8 and 9, students are exposed to a chronological overview of British and world history since 1066. Parents can find more information on the specific topics covered in each unit by looking at the Learning Journeys that are stuck into students’ books at the start of each half term.

Year 7 Units of Study

Year 7 Learning Journey – Autumn

Year 7 Learning Journey – Spring

By the end of Year 7, students should have a good core knowledge of the events of the medieval and early modern world, and should be able to apply this knowledge to concepts such as monarchy, power and conflict. They will understand how historians investigate the past and will have been developing their describing, explaining and inferring skills.

• Anglo-Saxon England
• The Norman Conquest
• Norman Control 1066-1087
• The Middle Ages
• The Tudors
• The Stuarts

Year 8 Units of Study

Year 8 Learning Journey – Autumn

Year 8 Learning Journey – Spring

By the end of Year 8, students will have a good core knowledge of the events of Industrial Britain, tracing the British Empire from its origins, through several case studies in different countries, to its eventual decline and legacy. They will be able to apply this knowledge to concepts such as power and conflict, but also empire and revolution, and have explored the moral implications of the legacy of empire. They will have been developing their skillset from Year 7, with the addition of analysing the utility of sources and using their developing knowledge to evaluate interpretations.

• The British Empire
• Case Study: America
• Case Study: Africa
• Case Study: India
• The Industrial Revolution
• The Legacy of the British Empire
• Democracy 1820 – present day

Year 9 Units of Study

Year 9 Learning Journey – Autumn

Year 9 Learning Journey – Spring

By the end of Year 9, as part of their thematic study, students will have a good core knowledge of the causes, events, and significance of World War One and World War Two, as well as key global events since 1945. They will be able to apply this knowledge to concepts such as empire, nationalism, dictatorship, and democracy. They will have been developing their skillset from Year 7 and 8, with the addition of consistent analysis throughout a piece of writing to come to a substantiated conclusion.

• The causes and events of World War One
• The interwar period and the rise of Hitler
• The causes and events of World War Two
• The Holocaust and other modern genocides
• The Cold War

Overview of Years 10 & 11

Year 10 Learning Journey – Autumn

Year 10 Learning Journey – Spring

The GCSE history course aims to provide students with a broad knowledge of history. Students will cover Medieval to Modern History, and consider countries such as Britain, America, Germany, the USSR and China. Students study four units: a thematic study, a British depth study, a period study, and a modern international depth study. Parents can find more information on the specific topics covered in each unit by looking at the Learning Journeys that are stuck into students’ books at the start of each half term.

Year 10 GCSE

Early Elizabethan England, c1558 – 88

Queen, Government and Religion, 1558 – 69

• The situation on Elizabeth’s accession
• The ‘settlement’ of religion
• Challenge to the religious settlement
• The problem of Mary, Queen of Scots

Challenges to Elizabeth at Home and Abroad, 1569 – 88

• Plots and Revolts at Home
• Relations with Spain
• Outbreak of the war with Spain, 1585 – 88
• The Armada

Elizabethan Society in the Age of Exploration

• Education and Leisure
• The problem with the poor
• Exploration and voyages of discovery
• Raleigh and Virginia

Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches.

c1250-c1500: Medicine in medieval England

• Ideas about the causes of disease and illness
• Approaches to prevention and treatment
• Case study – The Black Death

c1500-c1700: The medical Renaissance in England

• Ideas about the causes of disease and illness
• Approaches to prevention and treatment
• Case studies – William Harvey; The Great Plague

c1700-c1900: Medicine in 18th and 19th century Britain

• Ideas about the causes of disease and illness
• Approaches to prevention and treatment
• Case studies – Jenner; The fight against Cholera

c1900-present: Medicine in modern Britain

• Ideas about the causes of disease and illness
• Approaches to prevention and treatment
• Case studies – Penicillin; the fight against Lung cancer

The British sector on the Western Front, 1914-1918

• The context of the British sector on the Western Front
• Conditions requiring medical treatment on the Western Front
• The Work of the RAMC and FANY
• The significance of the Western Front for experiments in surgery

Year 11 GCSE

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939

The Weimar Republic, 1918-29

• The origins of the Republic, 1918-19
• The early challenges to the Weimar Republic, 1919-23
• The recovery of the Republic, 1924-29
• Changes in society, 1924-29

Hitler’s rise to power, 1919-33

• Early development of the Nazi party, 1920-22
• The Munich Putsch and the lean years, 1923-29
• The growth in support for the Nazis, 1929-32
• How Hitler became chancellor, 1932-33

Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933-29

• The creation of a dictatorship, 1933-34
• The police state
• Controlling and influencing attitudes
• Opposition, resistance, and conformity

Life in Nazi Germany

• Nazi policies towards women
• Nazi policies towards the young
• Employment and living standards
• The persecution of minorities

Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91

The origins of the Cold War, 1941-58

• Early tension between East and West
• The development of the Cold War
• The Cold War intensifies

Cold War Crises, 1958-70

• Increased tension between East and West
• Cold War crises
• Reaction to crisis

The End of the Cold War, 1970-91

• Attempts to reduce tension between East and West
• Flashpoints
• The collapse of Soviet control of Eastern Europe

We follow the Edexcel specification at GCSE. A comprehensive overview of the GCSE course curriculum can be accessed here.

Extra-Curricular Opportunities

The History department aims to provide a variety of extra-curricular opportunities to students. This has included in the past visits from key speakers such as MPs and survivors of the Holocaust. The department also facilitates entrance to national essay writing competitions, as well as trips to key historical sites such as Kenilworth castle and Berlin. Every year, the department delivers assemblies that expose students to key events such as Black History Month, Remembrance Day and Holocaust Memorial Day.