History

Accommodation and equipment

The History Department is located in the temporary new ‘P Block’. Each classroom is fitted with a computer and interactive whiteboard which are used widely by both staff and students.  The department uses a range of teaching strategies to cater for the needs of all students and is equipped with a variety of engaging and stimulating resources.  We make extensive use of ICT and students regularly use the laptop trolley in order to carry out independent research

Staffing

The History Department currently has 4 full time teachers:

• Miss V. Fitzpatrick
• Mrs C. Marsden
• Mrs M. Nuttall
• Miss D. O’Neill
• Mr S. Wood

Curriculum overview KS3

In Years 7 and 8 students follow a successfully integrated Humanities curriculum, studying History, Geography and RE in an innovative and dynamic style.  For more information about this curriculum please refer to the Humanities section of the website.

In Year 9 students study the period 1750 to the present day, topics incorporate local, national and world historical themes. Whilst learning about key events and individuals, students are encouraged to ask and answer questions about the past and develop the ability to consider different views and form their own opinions.

The Year 9 curriculum provides opportunities for students to study key events that have shaped the modern world, allowing a greater understanding of the political, economic and social structures in place today.  Some of the topics include: the development and impact of crime, protests and demonstrations and warfare and changing technology.
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Curriculum overview Key Stage 4

History is a popular option at Key Stage 4 and the department follows the EDEXCEL Modern World syllabus. The course consists of 3 modular examinations and a controlled assessment assignment, each worth 25% of the course.

For the examinations students study the following topics:
International Relations, 1945 and 1970 (this includes the causes of WW2, the origins of the Cold War and 3 major crisis of the Cold War)
Weimar and Nazi Germany (this included how Germany was governed immediately after WW1, the rise of Hitler and life in Nazi Germany)
A Divided Union 1945-1970 (this is a study of the USA including the Red Scare, the Civil Rights Movement and the Students’ Movement of the 1960s

The controlled assessment assignment is a study of the development of the Police force and Crimes in Britain since 1850 (including a study of Jack the Ripper) and consists of 3 questions that are written in class.

Curriculum Enhancement

To enhance the curriculum Year 10 visit London for two days to visit the crime scenes of Jack the Ripper and are given the opportunity to  and stay overnight and see and work with the only authentic letters written by Jack the Ripper himself, at the National Archives. Students stay overnight on the HMS Belfast, which is one of the few remaining battleships in the Second World War.

For Year 9, a theatre in education company regularly perform drama from significant events during the 20th Century and give students the option of performing to further enhance their understanding. Also, the department is able to hire original artefacts and costumes to recreate times gone by in class.  Year 9 also visit Eden Camp to see first hand the conditions soldiers and civilians lived and fought in during the war years.

Useful websites

www.edexcel.co.uk
www.schoolhistory.co.uk
www.activehistory.co.uk
www.thinkhistory.co.uk
www.schoolhistory.org.uk