Students will study:

• The Norman Conquest of 1066
• Life in Medieval Britain
• The Black Death
• The Development of Democracy in Britain
• Medieval Britain’s Relations with other Countries
• The Tudor Monarchs: Henry VIII, Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, Mary I and Elizabeth I

We also offer a Religion, History and Society course in conjunction with the RE department which supports the history curriculum and allows students to explore a wider range of religious and historical issues and develop their understanding of social, moral, spiritual and cultural issues and British Values. This includes pre-Christian polytheism; the early Christian Church in Britain; Medieval Christianity; the relationship between Church and State in the Medieval period (including Thomas Becket); Islamic beliefs; the European Reformation; and Tudor religion.

Students will study:

• Victorian Britain and the Industrial Revolution
• Black People of America (Slave Trade to Civil Rights)
• Dictatorships
• Women throughout History
• World War One
• World War Two

The year 8 Religion, History and Society programme includes: migration to America; Native American life and beliefs; Mormons; the British Empire with particular focus on India; immigration and the idea of Britain as a multicultural society; human rights; prejudice and discrimination; Heroes of Human Rights; terrorism; and conflict in the Middle East.

Students will study:

• 1920s America
• Communism and the Cold War

In January of year 9 students start preparations for GCSE history by exploring the Norman Conquest of England in increased depth.

Religion, History and Society is also taught in year 9 in conjunction with the RE department. We have constructed a unit which links the RE GCSE unit on Judaism with the History GCSE unit on Dictatorship in Germany. Students study the basics of the Jewish faith before beginning an exploration of how life changed for Jews in the 20th century including the escalation of persecution; ghettos; pogroms and Kristallnacht; the Holocaust; and the impact of the Holocaust.

This course should give students a broad range of knowledge through engaging topics and dynamic teaching. It aims to develop the students’ enquiry skills to understand cause and consequence; significance; and change and continuity. Source evaluation and knowledge recall are strengthened components of the exams so students will get a lot of practice with these.

At GCSE, we follow the new AQA specification with units on Health and the People; Conflict and Tension during World War One; Democracy and Dictatorship in Germany and Norman England. This will be assessed by two terminal exams at the end of year 11. There is no longer any coursework.

There are 3 units to the A-level:

• The Tudors: England 1485-1603
• Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918-1945
• Non-examined assessment (NEA)

We have chosen a broad range of topics to give students experience of multiple time periods which will provide a broad basis if students decide to carry on their study of history to degree level. It also enables us to give students more freedom with the NEA. In the past, the NEA may have been called coursework. Students select a topic, covering a 100 year period that they are interested in and spend time independently researching and writing a 4000 word essay analysing a key issue. This is on par with first year university work and requires dedication and commitment to working independently. As our two examined units meet the exam board’s 200 year rule, students can have greater choice over their NEA.