History

Key Stage 2 History

At Key Stage 1 and 2 learners build a cohesive understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. History is taught by stimulating pupil’s interest and understanding about the life of people who lived in the past.

Key Stage 1 focuses on developing pupil’s awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time, making comparisons between life in different time periods. Pupils should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources

Throughout KS2, pupils are taught to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of world and British history. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop appropriate vocabulary. Pupils will address and devise historically valid questions about change, cause and effect.

Pupils at KS1 may cover the following areas:

• Changes within living memory
• Events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally
• The lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements
• Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

Pupils at KS2 will cover a variety of the following topics:

• Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age
• The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain
• Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots
• The Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor
• A local history study
• A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066
• he achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and an in depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China
• Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world
• A non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300

Enrichment opportunities/additional learning       History is explored, through a cross curricular approach, across a variety of subjects such as English, drama and LOTC. This provides pupils with an immersive experience of different topics. Pupils are given the opportunity to visit historical sights through enrichment visits. This helps to consolidate pupils learning.

Key Stage 3 History

Curriculum statement linking Key stages :

At KS3, learners have the opportunity to build on the investigative, analysing and evaluation skills they learnt at KS2 during their learning journeys.

The History curriculum is custom designed to engage our students through the use of interesting and relevant topics covering all areas of the National Curriculum directives.

Source analysis, evaluation and discussion are key to students being able to demonstrate their historical knowledge within the curriculum topics.

Pupils are assessed throughout the year and are encouraged to take responsibility for their learning and development through the use of clear assessment focuses. Assessment covers a range of skills and is used to help pupils in the transition between KS3 & KS4 at the end of Year 9 if they choose to take History at GCSE.
 

Students are assessed at the end of each topic in order to track progression and understanding, there are no formal qualifications until KS4.

Topics include-

Year 7 – Romans, The Black Death, The Peasants revolt, The Magna Carta, The War of the Roses, The Spanish Armada.

Year 8- Henry VIII and The Reformation, The French Revolution, Expansion of the British Empire, The Slave Trade, Women’s Suffrage and The American West.

Year 9 – WWI, WWII, Ghandi, Indian Independence and the end of the empire, The creation of the NHS and the Welfare State, Britain’s place in the world since 1945.

Long term plan –

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Alongside this course there are opportunities within the English, Citizenship and PSHRE curriculums to think about historical contexts, their consequences and to analyse their effects.

Key Stage 4 History

Curriculum statement linking Key stages :

At Key Stage 4 students have the opportunity to study historical topics in more depth and develop further their investigation, source, analytical and evaluation skills learnt at KS3.

The History curriculum aims to engage all students following the national curriculum assessments objectives.

It is designed to develop their knowledge and understanding of the key features and characteristics of the period studied.

To explain and analyse historical events and periods studied using second-order historical concepts.

To analyse, evaluate and use sources (contemporary to the period) to make substantiated judgements, in the context of historical events studied.

To analyse, evaluate and make substantiated judgements about interpretations (including how and why interpretations may differ) in the context of historical events studied.

Students study a rolling programme over the 2 year course to study the 4 separate topics required and a mock exam is taken in term 3 of each year to mark progress.

Students take 3 GCSE exams at the end of the 2 year course.

Paper 1: Thematic study and historic environment -

Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches.

Paper 2: Period study and British depth study -

Henry VIII and his ministers, 1509–40 and Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941–91

Paper 3: Modern depth study –

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39

Long term plan –

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Alongside this course there are opportunities within the English, Citizenship and PSHRE curriculums to think about historical contexts, their consequences and to analyse their effects.