KS3 History starts with an exploration of the Year 7 theme of “Communities” focused on Medieval communities before moving on to look at the Norman Conquest, Black Death and other aspects of Medieval life. After a trip across the Atlantic to study Aztec culture we return to these shores to investigate the mystery of the Princes in the Tower and the early Tudors. In Year 8 students study Elizabeth I, the Stuarts and the Slave Trade before finding out about life in 19th century industrial cities and the Jack the Ripper murders. Year 9 History is based on the 20th century; the two world wars and Nazi Germany before concluding with a study of the War on Terror.
GCSE History at KS4 is the AQA specification. For our study of “Understanding the Modern World” we focus on “Germany 1890-1945 Democracy and Dictatorship” and then “Conflict and Tension between East and West 1945 – 1972” For the second paper “Shaping the Nation” we study “Norman England c. 1066 – c. 1100” and “Britain; health and the people, c1000- present”. Both papers require the development of source- based skills as well as a knowledge of what happened in the past and an ability to explain it.
History is a popular option at A level with 29 students currently taking the subject in Year 12. The course followed is OCR H505 and includes studies of “The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603-1660”, “Civil Rights in the USA 1865 – 1992” and an extended essay on a topic of the student’s own choice. From September we will also be studying “Russia 1894 – 1941″ instead of Germany 1919-63”. Lessons usually include a lot of discussion and debate as students exchange their opinions and ideas
