History

Staff

Dr C Tyldesley (Head of Department), Mrs S Scherewode (Teacher Coach) Mr. J. Storey

Curriculum

Key Stage 3

In Year 7 more able students study History as part of the Humanities Course.

In Year 8 the focus is on British History. Topics include Medieval Kings and Medieval Life, the Tudors and Stuarts and the Industrial Revolution.

In Year 9, students study The Black Peoples of the Americas (including the fight against slavery) and the First and Second World Wars.

We hope that by the end of Key Stage most students will be working at Level 5 or above.

Key Stage 4

Students in the Extension and Enhancement pathways have the opportunity to study History at GCSE if they wish to.

The present Year 10 and 11 are following AQA Specification A and will be examined in 2009 and 2010. The examination (worth 75%) will be on Medicine through Time and The American West. Coursework (worth 25%) tests understanding of History Around Us and The Arab Israeli Conflict.

Next year students will follow Edexel Specification B. The topics studied will be The Development of Warfare, The Revolution in Surgery, Germany 1919-1945 and The Vietnam War. Each unit is worth 25% of the total marks for GCSE. Coursework has been replaced by a controlled assessment completed in school in examination conditions. This will be on the Vietnam War. The other units can be examined in Year 10 as well as in Year 11. We hope that this increased flexibility will help our students.

Field work

We are proud that we offer all students the opportunity to visit historical sites and museums to support their learning. In recent years we have visited Conisbrough Castle, Roche Abbey, The National Mining Museum for England and The Royal Armouries in Leeds.