History

Why we teach History

Pupils develop an interest in, and understanding of, English history by examining sources, assessing evidence and studying the past through story-telling, discussion and focused written work. History enables pupils to learn about the past and through this, develop better understanding of the present, an awareness of differing values, systems and societies and helps promote understanding of different cultures and national traditions. The skills pupils learn through the study of History are readily transferable to many occupations and careers.

KS3 History

Overview of content

In Year 7 pupils will undertake five units of study taking them from the death of Edward the Confessor on 6^th January 1066 to the death of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. These extraordinary years in English History see conflicts between Church and state, the horrors of the Black Death and the chaos of the Peasants’ Revolt. Skills such as chronology understanding, significance, diversity of experience as well as change and continuity will be examined.

In Year 8 pupils will undertake nine units of study taking them from the start of the Tudor dynasty in 1485 to the end of the First World War. This course builds on the Year 7 curriculum but is very different, whilst starting with Tudors and Stuarts we expand our reach to the History of Great Britain becoming a nation, then onto French, American, Haitian Revolutions and on further to the global conflict of the Great War. Skills such as chronology understanding, significance, diversity of experience as well as change and continuity will be examined.

In Year 9 pupils will undertake nine units of study taking them from the start of the peace in 1919 to the election of Barack Obama in 2008. This course covers the Twentieth Century and has a global outlook. Topics of interest include the Second World War, domestic terrorism in the United States, the Vietnam and Falklands Wars and a look at the start of the Cold War. Skills such as chronology understanding, significance, diversity of experience as well as change and continuity will be examined.

Yr 7 Programme of Study

Half term	Topics studied; skills and knowledge	How this will be assessed
Autumn - 1	History Skills William of Normandy	Baseline Assessment
Autumn - 2	William of Normandy	Higher and Foundation examination paper on the leadership of William I.
Spring - 1	Medieval Monarchs 1087-1381
Spring - 2	Medieval Monarchs 1087-1381	Higher and Foundation paper on the Hundred Years’ War.
Summer - 1	Ordinary People and Religion	Higher and Foundation examination paper on the importance of the Church.
Summer - 2	Richard III and Explorers

Yr 8 Programme of Study

Half term	Topics studied; skills and knowledge	How this will be assessed
Autumn - 1	Early Tudors 1485-1547	Higher and Foundation Examination Paper on the reign of King Henry VIII.
Autumn - 2	Mid Tudor Reigns 1547-1558 Elizabeth I 1558-1601	Higher and Foundation Examination Paper on the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
Spring - 1	The English Civil War 1603-1660 Constitutional Change 1685-1707
Spring - 2	Revolutions: 1776-1791 The Nineteenth Century	Higher and Foundation Examination Paper on the American Revolutionary War.
Summer - 1	Pre 1914
Summer - 2	The First World War	Higher and Foundation Examination Paper on the Leadership of Field Marshal Haig.

Yr 9 Programme of Study

Half term	Topics studied; skills and knowledge	How this will be assessed
Autumn - 1	New Beginnings – Great Britain after the First World War.
Autumn - 2	Hitler’s Germany 1920-1939	Higher and Foundation Examination Paper on Life in Hitler’s Germany.
Spring - 1	Side Step – America, Russia, Flappers, Prohibition Gangsters.
Spring - 2	The Second World War 1939-1945.	Higher and Foundation Examination Paper on the Causes of the Second World War.
Summer - 1	The Holocaust 1942-1945	Higher and Foundation Examination on the Bombing of Dresden.
Summer - 2	Post 1945: Post War World

Homework

Monthly assignments will be set online via our home study website Seneca Learning, it is important for pupils to sign up to Seneca Learning at the start of September and their teacher will then assign them a class code. Seneca Learning recaps prior learning, revises topics already studied in class to prepare for examinations and covers new areas, not taught in the classroom. There will be reading, mini tests, revision and work on historical skills and embedding understanding.

Learning outside the classroom

The CAM Academy Trust runs a series of monthly Historical lectures which pupils are very welcome to join online. This will enhance both subject knowledge and interest in History.

Parental support and extension

The key to success in History is threefold; practicing your P.E.E. paragraphs at home, reading around the subject and taking an interest in the History around you at weekends. Recommended visits include: the Imperial War Museum at both Duxford and London, the Cabinet War Rooms, areas of historic interest such as the battlefields of Marston Moor, Edgehill, Hastings as well as the dockyards at Portsmouth.

More information

Core texts for Year 7 will be Presenting the Past 1 by Tony McAleavy, History in Progress 1 by Martin Collier and Think History 2 by Caroline Beechner.

Core texts for Year 8 will be Think History 2 by Caroline Beechner, History in Progress 2 by Nicola Boughey, Think History 3 by Caroline Beechener, Peace and War by Colin Shepard and History in Progress 3 by Martin Collier.

Core texts for Year 9 will be ‘Think History 3, Modern Times 1750 - 1990' by Caroline Beechever published by Heinemann, and ‘Discovering the Past Year 9, Peace and War', by Colin Shepherd published by John Murray.

Essential equipment includes a pencil case, two black pens, two lead pencils, a ruler, colouring pencils, eraser, highlighters and a glue stick.

KS4 History

Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9-1) in History (1HI0)

Overview of content

In History pupils will study a British thematic study covering a thousand year history of Crime and Punishment, a period study covering the making of the American West, a British depth study covering early part of Elizabeth I’s reign, as well as a modern depth study which is a study of Weimar and Nazi Germany.

Programme of Study

Year	Half term	Topics studied; skills and knowledge	How this will be assessed
10	Autumn - 1	Early Elizabethan England 1558-1588	16 mark exam question 20 mark recall test
	Autumn - 2	Early Elizabethan England 1558-1588	Exam Paper 2 – Early Elizabethan England, 55 minutes.
	Spring - 1	Weimar and Nazi Germany 1919-1939	20 mark recall test
	Spring - 2	Weimar and Nazi Germany 1919-1939	Exam Paper 3 – Weimar and Nazi Germany source paper, 80 minutes.
	Summer - 1	The American West 1835-1895	20 mark recall test
	Summer - 2	The American West 1835-1895	Exam Paper 2 – American West, including sources, 55 minutes.
11	Autumn - 1	Crime and Punishment Through Time c1000-Present Day	20 mark recall test
	Autumn - 2	Crime and Punishment Through Time c1000-Present Day	Exam Paper 1 - Crime Section B, general Crime and Punishment focus (not Whitechapel), 50 minutes.
	Spring - 1	Whitechapel, c.1870-c.1900: crime, policing and the inner city.	Exam Paper 1 – Crime Section A, focus on Whitechapel with sources, 25 minutes.
	Spring - 2	Revision for Papers 1, 2 & 3
	Summer - 1	Revision for Papers 1, 2 & 3
	Summer - 2	Period of Formal Examinations

Homework

Each month pupils will be set an assignment on Seneca Learning, pupils will complete this over the course of the month and will also be required to revise fully for each examination as they come up. Pupils will be required to join the appropriate Seneca Learning class at the start of each academic year. https://senecalearning.com/en-GB/

How it is assessed

In this section tell parents about the external assessment (not our internal ones). e.g. History is assessed via three external examinations as follows at the end of Year 11.

Paper 1 – Crime and Punishment through Time, c1000-Present, including a study of Whitechapel 1870-1900, 75 minutes. 30% of the course.

Paper 2 – Early Elizabethan England 1558-1588 and the American West 1835-95, 105 minutes. 40% of the course.

Paper 3 – Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-1939, 80 minutes. 30% of the course.

Learning outside the classroom

GCSE Revision classes will run.

Parental support and extension

History involves good use of memory, using data and constructing coherent arguments under timed conditions, good note taking, organisation, routinely revising key aspects of the course and completing the online Seneca Learning assignments are all central to gaining a good grade. Parents are best placed to ensure homework is fully completed on time and to a high standard. Instant feedback is provided on all assignments including areas to focus on and areas of particular success.

More information

GCSE History links to the GCSE English and Language course as core skills are related to those subjects, including essay writing, analysis, creating and sustaining a coherent argument, use of evidence.

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