History

The aims of the History department are to:

• Arouse pupils’ interest in the past
• To give pupils an understanding of their, and their country’s, origins
• To enhance pupils’ thinking skills
• To encourage an enquiring mind
• To help improve pupils’ literacy and ICT skillsHistory is planned and delivered within the framework of the National Curriculum and the school policies for Teaching and Learning, Assessment, Special Needs and Equal Opportunities.

Pupils will be taught to:

• Recognise and make appropriate use of dates and vocabulary
• Consider the main events and people of the periods they are studying
• Explain and analyse why these events took place
• Explain and analyse why people acted as they did

Approaches to learning

Activities undertaken will incorporate situations that stimulate curiosity, generate enthusiasm for knowledge, and give them experience of sharing and co-operating. Pupils will be encouraged to:

• Work independently
• In pairs or small groups
• Purposefully use ICT in research and presentation
• Think for themselves

Year 7 Overview

What is History?
How can we find out about History?
Who were the Romans?
How did the Romans spend their spare time?
Why did the Normans win the Battle of Hastings?
How did the Normans keep control?
How hard was life for people in the Middle Ages?

Year 8 Overview

What can we learn from Portraits?
How important was religion in Tudor times?
Were people in Tudor times poor?
The Stuarts
Gunpowder plot/The Great Fire of London/The Plague
How did Britain change between 1750-1900?

Year 9 Overview

Dispelling the myths of the Native Americans
Plains Indians
Living in a tepee
Native American customs
White settlers
What was life like on the wagon trail?
What happened to the Native Americans when the White settlers arrived?
Why did World War I begin?
Trench warfare
Hitler’s rise to power
The beginning of World War II
The Blitz
The Atom bomb

Key Stage 4

The department has introduced accreditation at entry level for some pupils at KS4. Pupils will be able to continue to study history through years 10 and 11 if it is suitable for the individual.