History

Key Stage 4

GCSE History engages students in the process of historical enquiry to develop them as independent learners and critical thinkers. Students develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past and to investigate them using a range of sources.

You will study:

America 1920-1973: Opportunity & Inequality: A turbulent half century of change. Some Americans had the opportunity to reach new heights of prosperity while others struggled against poverty & inequality. You will study: The Roaring Twenties, Prohibition, Civil rights movement, The ‘Red Scare’, New Deal , Roosevelt and Kennedy.

Conflict and Tension 1918-1939: This wider world study will look at the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and reaction to it.  The formation of the League of Nations, its structure and formation, its response to international incidents and its eventual collapse.  The origins and outbreak of the Second World War.

Medicine 1000 to Present: You will study medicine from ancient times to the present day. Topics studied will include public health, battle against disease, surgery and the impact of the great medical individuals like Pasteur and Jenner.

Elizabethan England 1568-1603: Students will study the character of Elizabeth I and the composition of her government. We will look at life in Elizabethan England including the lives of the poor and the culture of the times.  Students will study the problems Elizabeth faced both at home and abroad.

Elizabethan England/Historic environment – The Americas and Drake’s circumnavigation 1577-80.

International Conflict & Tension

Key Stage 3

Students will study the following topics in each year group:

Year 7:

  • Why was the Roman Army so successful?
  • How significant was Boudica?
  • How civilized were the Romans?
  • Why did William I win the Battle of Hastings and was he a successful ruler?
  • How far did experiences of medieval life vary?
  • Who was to blame for the murder of Thomas Becket?
  • The life and times of King John – an historical depth study.
  • The significance of Robert Bruce and Bannockburn.
  • How and why Dunwich changed from Roman period to today.

Year 8:

  • How damaging was Matthew Hopkins in 1600s England?
  • What were the main causes of English civil war?
  • Cromwell’s actions in Drogheda, Ireland.
  • How important was Thomas Clarkson’s role in the abolition of the slave trade?
  • How successful were the methods of the Chartists?
  • How successful were the methods of the Suffragettes? How significant was Emily Davison in the suffragette movement?
  • The British Empire and Slavery.
  • How does modern Britain cope with its colonial past?

Year 9:

  • Why did so many people die on the Titanic?
  • What were the main causes of WW1?
  • Does the film ‘The Battle of the Somme’ provide realistic evidence about the Battle of the Somme?
  • Who was Jack the Ripper and how did he get away with murder?
  • What was the biggest turning point in World War Two?
  • The Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany.
  • The Holocaust.