History

Year

Topic(s)

Why this? Why now?

Year 7

Year 7 will have an introduction to History skills through the study of the Roman Empire in Britain. This will include focussing on key ideas such as sources, skills and the work of historians in uncovering the past, as well as looking at the impact that the Romans had on the UK.

Year 7 will also study the Norman Conquest as their second topic. This focusses on explaining how and why the Normans were able to win the battle of Hastings and keep control of England afterwards. It then explores some of the longer term changes that the Normans made to the UK.

This unit will introduce some of the fundamental skills of historians such as: the use of sources as contemporary evidence, how and why the past has been interpreted in different ways and the basic skills of chronology. This will provide a basis for all future study of history. It builds on work done previously at KS2 and develops their understanding further.

The Normans unit will continue to develop the skills established in the first unit. It will also focus on a vital event in British history as well as developing the ability of students to understand concepts such as causation and significance.

Year 8

Year 8 will begin the Year by studying the Transatlantic Slave Trade. They will focus on experience of the enslaved peoples, how Britain benefitted from the slave trade. The course will then develop the understanding of how enslaved people helped to win their free and the work of the Abolitionists in ending slavery before we look at why slavery remains a controversial issue today.

Year 8 will then study the Industrial Revolution. The focus will mainly be upon its social impact on the people of Britain and how it led to urbanisation. The impact on health, crime, women and children will all be studied. Students will gain a deep understanding of hierarchy, social structure and living conditions that will support their understanding of the development of democracy 

This unit picks up chronologically from the study of the Tudors at the end of Year 7 where students were introduced to Queen Elizabeth. The unit continues to develop the skills of analysis and evaluation of sources and interpretations about the past. It will allow students the powerful knowledge to engage in debates about the issues, and show how important the role of former enslaved people such as Mary Prince was in the fight for Abolition.

Students will use the backdrop of their understanding of slavery to link to the Industrial revolution. The themes of industrialisation and slavery will be linked. This will allow students the powerful knowledge to understand the later topics of Suffrage and the British Empire.

Year 9

Year 9 will complete their study of WWI by exploring why Germany lost and the impact of the Treaty of Versailles. The rise of Nazism and Communism will be studied and compared. The causes of WWII will be explored. The different ways that WWII has been interpreted will then be the main focus: this will involve looking at different key events during the war such as Dunkirk, the Battle of Britian,  Pearl Harbor and the use of the Atomic Bomb.

Students will then study the background to and the events of the Holocaust. This will involve a range of source work, challenge misconceptions and encourage a debate about accountability for the Holocaust.

Students finished Year 8 with a study of WWI, this will allow them to develop their understanding further into the causes and events of WWII. This unit allows further development of source skills and the evaluation of interpretations. Students will be producing their own interpretations of important events. They will be able to judge the significance of the events of the war.

The study of the Holocaust will build both on the knowledge and skills developed in the first unit. Students will be able to link ill-feeling form WWI, the rise of the Nazis and the deeper historical context to explain the origins of the Holocaust. They will also be able to place the Holocaust.

Year 10

Year 10 will study Edexcel  History Paper 1: Medicine Through Time. This consists of 4 units to be completed by Christmas.

• Medieval Medicine 1250 1500 
• Renaissance Medicine 1500 to 1700  ( where old ideas were challenged by individuals and science).
• Industrial Medicine 1700 1900
• Modern Medicine  1900 – Present.

The course studies the role of religion, science, key individuals and the government in helping medicine to progress across a wide span of British history

Medicine through Time is a thematic option in GCSE and links backward through the KS3 curriculum. For example, it revisits the Middle Ages, the Industrial period and WWI that the students have studied previous.

The skills of extended writing, making judgements and explaining causation are also built on the foundations built at KS3.

Year 11

Year 11 will complete the study of Exdexcel History Paper 3: Weimar and Nazi Germany. This involves the study of life for Germans during the Nazi period, focusing on women, children, work and the persecution of minorities.

Students will then start the study of the Cold War for Paper 2. This will involve three units, including

• The Early Cold War
• Cold War Crises – Berlin, Cuba and Czechoslovakia
• The Later Cold War: Détente and the eventual collapse of the Soviet block

Students are completing studies on Germany started in Year 10 and full developing their skills of evaluating intepretations and analysing source material.

The Cold War is sequenced here as there is  a logical flow from the events of Nazi Germany. This improves their ability to access the course and many of the key concepts like ideologies  and Communism have already been covered during the Germany unit.