Intent of curriculum 

History is an incredibly interesting and rewarding subject that teaches students about different societies and allows them to learn from our collective past to help understand the world today. Studying History provides students with vital skills that are important for future careers, such as understanding, explaining and analysing key information, evaluating different interpretations, forming arguments, debates and judgements, research skills and critical thinking. The key skills in History include understanding and applying the concept of significance, cause and effect, change and continuity and utilising sources of evidence to help with historical enquiries. We embrace the teaching of British, European and Wider World history in an inclusive way that celebrates the achievements of, and uncovers the suffering of diverse individuals, peoples, cultures and ethnicities in History. We teach about the mistakes that have happened in the past as well as the successes and breakthroughs in human development and cover important topics that have an impact on real world issues that affect us today, including Britain in the post-colonial era, the slave trade, civil rights, holocaust, anti-Semitism and British values of respect, tolerance, diversity, freedom of speech and the rule of law by teaching about the development of democracy over time. 

Implementation of curriculum 

Key Stage 3 History provides a foundation of knowledge and skills for students to understand key events from the past and access these topics through studying schemes of work that develop literacy through extended reading and writing tasks, essay writing skills, analysing sources of evidence and evaluating historical perspectives and interpretations. The History department has consistently high standards and exemplary success rates for grades year on year. ​The Curriculum is designed around the theme of the development of democracy, split into three key enquiry questions; ‘How did the Power of Kings Change?’, ‘How did Political and Economic Power Change in Britain?’ and ‘How has Democracy overcome Challenges in Modern Times?’ These topics allow for students to make links with previous knowledge of topics they have done in earlier years in the school, to build upon layers of knowledge and understanding and there are opportunities to make connections to the modern world, so that students see how history effects the world around them. This allows students to build up cultural capital and citizenship values. In Year 7, students do a local study of Malpas before and after the Domesday Book as part of their Norman Conquest topic, then study Medieval Life before ending the year looking at The Crusades, which teaches about tolerance and understanding of different religions and then bringing it up to date with modern world issues such as Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and conflict in the Middle East. In Year 8, we cover how Britain was divided over religion during the Tudor and Stuart times, then look at the Slave Trade and the Industrial Revolution. The Twentieth century explores how democracy continued to develop and was faced with challenges such as empires causing World War I, then the rise of dictatorships such as the Nazis, WWII and the Holocaust and the Soviet Union and the Cold War. We then we look at issues in the 21st century, such as the threat of terrorism and modern wars. 

We follow the Edexcel GCSE syllabus that includes Medicine in Britain 1250-Present, American West 1835-1895, Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-39 and Anglo-Saxon and Norman England 1066-1088. At A-Level, we do a breath study on Russia 1855-1964, a depth study on Britain 1951-2007 and coursework (NEA) on the causes of the American Civil War 1775-1861. 

A variety of teaching and learning styles are implemented by all that make lessons well-paced, challenging and accessible, to make lessons fun, interesting, engaging and provide the right environment to allow progress to be made by all. The department calls upon a plethora of resources and learning aids including an extensive library of books, videos, technology, digital resources and teacher-made materials. There is a lot of collaboration within the team and we look to form cross-curricular links with other departments, whilst also being committed to enriching the curriculum by offering a variety of trips. 

Impact of curriculum  

At KS3, students are given assessments that imbed key skills that are applicable to the study of history, including recall of core knowledge, using key vocabulary, understanding the nature of a historical enquiry and using sources of evidence. The Curriculum allows for the development of key ideas and themes over time that follows a chronological narrative, but also makes links to past topics. This allows for retrieval of knowledge and links between topics to be forged, along with a sense of cultural capital being fostered as the topics are made relatable to the modern world.  Essays and mock exams are completed throughout KS4 and 5, with extensive feedback and assessment for learning initiatives implemented to all students.  We also organise extra-curricular revision sessions.