History

For an overview of the pathways through the curriculum, please see our information page here.

 

Welcome to the History Department

Our Vision

History fires our student’s curiosity and imagination, moving and inspiring them with the dilemmas, choices and beliefs of people in the past. History encourages our students to develop their own attitudes, values and identities by engaging with the past.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” George Santayana

Curriculum

Click below to learn about how the Curriculum is planned, delivered and assessed in History.

History Curriculum

 

KS3

Year 7

In Year 7 you will study the following topics:

  • What is History? Chronology, sources and skill s
  • Ancient History: Rome, Greece, Egypt and Britain
  • The Norman Conquest
  • Life in Medieval Britain
  • Famous people and events including Henry VIII, Elizabeth I the Gunpowder Plot, the Great Plague and Great Fire of London and Oliver Cromwell
  • From Slavery to Equality with a focus on Gambia

 

Year 8

Year 8 will then cover the following areas:

  • The French Revolution
  • The Industrial revolution
  • World War 1
  • World War 2
  • Portsmouth in WW2

 

KS4

At the start of Year 9 the curriculum will incorporate learning about famous people and events including the Titanic, death of Diana, assassination of JFK, abdication of Edward VIII and 9/11. Students will also study a variety of significant historical people such as Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Hitler and Stalin. By January of Year 9 students will begin the GCSE course.

  1. The Development of the USA 1929-2000
  2. Changes in Health and medicine in Britain c500 to the present day
  3. Germany in Transition 1919-1939
  4. The Elizabethan Age 1558-1603

In Key Stage 4 students follow the Eduqas exam board for History:

GCSE (9-1) History

In KS3 Assessment is carried out within lessons in the form of extended written questions which tie in with the skills necessary for GCSE.  These include analysing sources and creating two sided arguments supported with relevant historical evidence.  An emphasis is placed upon knowledge and Understanding in recall knowledge tests.  Students are expected to feedback from regular teacher marking which focuses on areas of achievement and highlights areas for development.  In year 7 and 8 every time an historical skill is achieved student’s record their success on their flight paths to show their progress.

In KS4 students are assessed based upon GCSE marking criteria.  As in KS3 there is a high emphasis on knowledge and understanding within recall tests as well as practise papers and regular exam questions within lessons and Independent learning.  Students’ progress is tracked on their assessment tracker which highlights areas of strength as well as areas that need further development.

All students are entitled to:

  • A positive, safe learning environment that enables them to flourish and encourages their development of historical skills within a culture of mutual respect and shared responsibility.
  • Be actively engaged in their own learning whilst being challenged and motivated to take responsibility for their own development and see the importance and purpose of the skills they are developing whilst studying History.
  • Experience well planned lessons which challenge them and provide clear assessments and opportunities to reflect upon their own learning and development.
  • Regular opportunities to participate in learning outside the classroom such as residential field trips, museums, theatre productions and other places of historical interest.