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History

 Welcome to the History Department

"Those who cannot learn from the past are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana

Head of Department:

Mr Kenward
e-mail: mkenward2.310@parkhighstanmore.org.uk

Key Stage 3

We fulfil the National Curriculum, by ensuring there is a broadly chronological structure to what we study from Years 7 to 9. Most topics are studied as periods of time.  Being British with a range of heritages is what unites our students, so we have greater focus on British history and how other cultures have impacted on this.  We study the diversity of societies, so that the experiences of people based on gender and ethnic origins are seen as an integral part of history.  Students study events and societies from Roman to Modern Britain, sometimes looking at themes such as migration or conflict.  They also study non-British societies such as Baghdad during the Golden Age of Islam, the Mughal Empire and experiences of European Jews in the 1930s-40s leading to the creation of Israel.

Year 7

Autumn Spring Summer

Romans Britain 

1. How do we know about the Romans? 

2. What was everyday life like for people in Roman Britain? 

Middle Ages

1. How did the Norman invasion affect England? 

Middle Ages

2.  Why did Baghdad become the centre of a Golden Age in the Islamic world?

3. "Medieval life was fun."  Do you agree?  

Migration: Romans to Tudors

1. How much did the reasons for migration to Britain change, from Romans to Tudors?

Tudors

1. Why did Henry VIII "Break with Rome"?
Assessment

1. Short knowledge test on the Roman invasions 

2. Writing task on utility of sources 

Extended writing:  How did the Norman invasion affect England? 

1. Extended writing: Why did Baghdad become the centre of a Golden Age in the Islamic world?

2. Oracy presentations on: "Medieval life was fun."  Do you agree? 

1. End of year exam – 3 questions: Change and continuity; Knowledge; using sources (utility)

2. Oracy presentation: Evaluation of the past / agreement with interpretation of causes for Break with Rome

Home learning is allocated on a weekly basis on Teams.  There is an online quiz designed to help students embed knowledge into long-term memory, which is set every other week on average.  There will also be written, revision or creative tasks set every 2 weeks.

Knowledge Organisers:

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Year 8 

 
Autumn Spring Summer

The Mughal Empire

  1. What mattered to the Mughals?

  2. What mattered to the British in India?

The British Empire

  1. What was Britain’s role in the slave trade?

  2. What was the impact of the British Empire?

Industrial Revolution

  1. How significant was the invention of the steam engine?

  2. Why was life difficult for many people during the Industrial Revolution? 

  3. How did the Industrial Revolution affect local history? 

Democracy in Britain

1. Why did women win the right to vote? 
Assessment

1. Extended writing - what mattered to the Mughals?

2. Writing task on the utility of sources on the Slave Trade

 

1. Writing task - Using historical interpretations of the impact of the British Empire

2. Extended writing task - How significant was the invention of the steam engine?

3. Extended writing task - "Life in Industrial Towns in 19th century Britain was difficult mostly due to economic reasons.  How far do you agree?

1. End of year exam – 3 questions: Knowledge; evaluation of the past; Using historical interpretations

2. Oracy presentation: Evaluation of the past on reasons why women gained the right to vote

Home learning is allocated on a weekly basis on Teams.  There is an online quiz designed to help students embed knowledge into long-term memory which is set every other week on average.  There will also be written, revision or creative tasks set every 2 weeks.

Knowledge Organisers:

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Year 9

Autumn Spring Summer

20th Century Conflict:

1. Why did a Second World War start in 1939? 

2. How did the experiences of European Jews change 1933-45?

 

Britain in the late 20th Century:

3. What were the reasons for the creation of Israel in 1948?

20th Century Migration

1. What were the consequences of 20th Century migration to Britain?

Britain in the late 20th Century continued

1. How were traditional values challenged in the 1950s and 60s?

2. How was discrimination in the UK challenged from the 1950s to 80s?
Assessment

1. Evaluating different interpretations on Causes of World War Two

2. Extended writing task on Change and continuity over time: How did the experiences of European Jews change 1933-45?

3. Extended writing - What were the reasons for the creation of Israel in 1948?

4. Extended writing: What were the consequences of 20th Century migration to Britain?

5. Short Knowledge test on how traditional values were challenged in the 1950s and 60s

6. End of year exam – 3 questions: Utility of sources; knowledge; consequences

7. Oracy presentation - Evaluation of the past: "Discrimination was successfully challenged in the 1950s-80s" How far do you agree?

Home learning is allocated on a weekly basis on Teams.  There is an online quiz designed to help students embed knowledge into long-term memory, which is set every other week on average.  There will also be written, revision or creative tasks set every 2 weeks. 

Key Stage 4

At GCSE, students study Elizabethan England, Germany 1919-39, the Cold War and Medicine in Britain from 1250.  These topics were chosen to showcase Elizabeth I as a strong female leader, to provide a political and social context for the world today and to interest students who aspire to study medicine in the future.    

Year 10

Students study the Edexcel/Pearson syllabus, which can be viewed here:

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/history-2016.html

Students study the Edexcel/Pearson syllabus, which can be viewed here:

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/history-2016.html The aims and objectives of this qualification are to enable students to:

  • develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of specified key events, periods and societies in local, British, and wider world history; and of the wide diversity of human experience
  • engage in historical enquiry to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers
  • develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context
  • develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them
  • organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways and reach substantiated conclusions.
Autumn Spring Summer

Early Elizabethan England (1558-88)

  1. Queen, Government &Religion, 1558-69 

  1. Challenges to Elizabeth at home and abroad, 1569-88 

  1. Elizabethan society in the Age of Exploration, 1558-88 

Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-39 

  1. Weimar Germany 

  1. Hitler’s rise to power, 1919-33 

  1. Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933-39 

  1. Life in Nazi Germany, 1933-39 

Medicine in Britain 1250-Present (Section B) 

1. C.1250-1500: Medicine in Medieval England 

2. C.1500-1700: The medical renaissance in England  

3. C.1700-1900: Medicine in c18 and c19 Britain 
Assessment

a) Describe one feature of Elizabeth’s religious settlement, 1559 (2 marks)

b) Describe one feature of Elizabethan government in 1588 (2 marks)

‘The threat of invasion was Elizabeth’s main problem when she became queen in 1558.’ How far do you agree? (16 marks)

Explain why England went to war with Spain (12 marks)

Short knowledge assessment. (10 marks)

Elizabeth Mock Exam (graded)

Explain why 1924-1929 was a golden age in the Weimar Republic.(12 marks)

Inferences question on Origins of the Nazis (4 marks)

How far do you agree with Interpretation 2 about the reasons for increased support for the Nazis in the years 1929-32? (16 marks)

How useful are sources A and B for an enquiry into the Night of the Long Knives? (8 marks)

Inferences and utility questions test. (4 and 8 marks)

Interpretation questions on Nazi youth. (16 marks)

Mock Exams on Elizabeth and Germany (graded)

Explain one way in which people’s reactions to the plague in Britain were similar in the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries (4 marks)

Explain why the role of Church in medicine decreased in importance in the years c1250–c1700. (12 marks)

‘The role of the Church was the main reason why there was little change in care and treatment in the years c1250–c1500.’

How far do you agree?

Explain one way in which people’s reactions to the plague in Britain were similar in the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries (4 marks)

Explain why the role of Church in medicine decreased in importance in the years c1250–c1700. (12 marks)

Explain why there were changes in the prevention of illness in the years c1700–c1900. (12 marks)

All students who follow this course will be given home learning weekly: an exam question alternating with other revision tasks on Classroom 42, a revision website that all students have accounts with.  Every 3 weeks on average an exam question will also be set in class, so revision will be required at home. Wider reading is always useful either from the websites offered, the text book or as directed by their classroom teacher.

In the Summer Term, each student will sit a formal, internal exam which will consist of all elements taught throughout the course. Appropriate preparation in the form of revision should be taken seriously with sufficient planning and organisation to ensure each student fulfils their potential.

Examination Board:

Edexcel

Year 11

Students study the Edexcel/Pearson syllabus, which can be viewed here:

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/history-2016.html

The aims and objectives of this qualification are to enable students to:

  • develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of specified key events, periods and societies in local, British, and wider world history; and of the wide diversity of human experience
  • engage in historical enquiry to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers
  • develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context
  • develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them
  • organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways and reach substantiated conclusions.
Autumn Spring Summer

Medicine in Britain 1250-Present (Section B) 

  1. C.1900-present: Medicine in modern Britain  

Medicine in Britain 125-Present (Section A – WW1 Site Study) 

  1. WW1 Site Study

Superpower Relations and the Cold War 1941-91 

  1. The origins of the Cold War, 1941-58 

The end of the Cold War, 1970-91 (in Y11) 

Superpower Relations and the Cold War 1941-91 

  1. Cold War Crises, 1958-70 
  2. The end of the Cold War, 1970-91 (in Y11)

Revision 
Assessment

Mock Exams onMedicine and Elizabeth (graded) Explain one way in which ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1700-c1850 were different from ideas about the cause of illness in the years c1900- present (4 marks).

Mock Exam on Elizabeth (graded)

‘In the years c1800–present, the work of Pasteur was the most significant development in understanding the causes of illness.’ How far do you agree? (16 marks)

Describe one feature of the problems involved in transporting wounded soldiers away from the battleground. (2 marks)

How could you follow up source A to find out more about the system of dealing with injured

Write a narrative account analysing the key events of the Hungarian Uprising in 1956 (8 marks)

Explain one consequence of the Cuban Revolution (4 marks)

Explain one consequence of (a) The Berlin Wall (b) the Cuban crisis (4 marks each)

a) Write a narrative account analysing the key events of Détente.(8 marks)

b) Explain the importance of Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking’ for Soviet control of Eastern Europe. (8 marks)

 

Mock Exam on The Cold War (graded)

Final exams on the 4 topics across 3 papers

KS4 Assessment:

All students who follow this course will be given home learning weekly: an exam question alternating with other revision tasks on Classroom 42, a revision website that all students have accounts with.  Every 3 weeks on average an exam question will also be set in class, so revision will be required at home. Wider reading is always useful either from the websites offered, the text book or as directed by their classroom teacher.

The 4 topics studied overall for GCSE are:

Paper

Topic

Type of study

Exam time

marks

% of grade

1

Medicine in Britain, c1250–present

Thematic study

1 hour 15 minutes

36

30%

The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18

Historic environment

16

2

Early Elizabethan England (1558-88)

British depth study

1 hour 45 minutes

32

40%

Superpower relations and the Cold War (1941-91)

Period study

32

3

Weimar and Nazi Germany (1918-39)

Modern Depth Study

1 hour 20 minutes

52

30%
Examination Board:

Edexcel

Course Specification:

 GCSE History (9-1) 

Qualification obtained:

GCSE History

 
Useful Reading Material

Hodder GCSE History for Edexcel: Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-39, by John Wright, Steve Waugh

Hodder GCSE History for Edexcel: Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91, by John Wright, Steve Waugh

Hodder GCSE History for Edexcel: Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88, by Barbara Mervyn

Hodder GCSE History for Edexcel: Medicine Through Time, c1250–Present, by Ian Dawson

Additional Information

Useful Websites

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/subjects/history.html

https://learning.parliament.uk/resources/?age-range-suitability=age-11-to-14&theme=history#main

https://www.bighistoryproject.com/home

Enrichment

We go beyond the curriculum through the Year 7 enrichment trip to St Albans Abbey and Verulamium Roman Museum and historical sites, a GCSE residential trip to the World War One Battlefields in Belgium and France, visits for year 12-13 to the London Library and a visiting historian speaker.  New trips being planned include the Cabinet War Rooms. 

 

KS5 Subject information

 

 

Subject Careers Information

 

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