History

Our aim in the History Department is to inspire, interest and Challenge our students. We hope that students will choose to take the study of History further, or if not, become interested in History as a leisure subject. History has links to a number of careers including, law and journalism.

So what do we study? Broadly speaking, at KS3 a narrative of Britain and the wider world from Roman times to the twentieth century. Year 7 focusses on the Roman to the Stuart period. We split the KS3 curriculum into three broad themes – Power and politics, Society and beliefs and the Economy. In year 7 subjects related to power include, Roman democracy and Magna Carta. We cover the feudal system and the Tudor reformation in connection with society and finally with regard to economics we consider why the Romans wanted an Empire.

We aim to embed skills which not only promote good historians but also are important in the world outside of school. The most important skill in year 7 is Knowledge and understanding of the key topics, leading to a grasp of the historical narrative from Romans to the Stuart dynasty. We aim to develop the skill of interpretation and recognising different viewpoints. Year 7 will decide whether Cleopatra was nasty or nice! The analysis of source material remains a crucial element throughout both key stages and students will become mini detectives. They will evaluate a wide range of sources in order for them to ascertain how useful they are for a particular enquiry. In addition there are some other key concepts which we develop. Students will assess change and continuity across periods of time, the significance of key events and people, the results and consequences of actions and events and finally causation.