History
Intent:
To produce critical-thinking students who can draw upon a wealth of relevant historical knowledge to help them succeed in their future endeavours.
To achieve this our students will:
- Know more and remember more about the history of these islands from the Roman Invasion of Britain up to the present day and build a chronological view of the change and continuity of this journey.
- Gain a broad base of knowledge about the ways in which Britain has interacted with, and had an impact on, the rest of the world throughout history as well as a case study on the Civil Rights Movement in the USA.
- Develop disciplinary knowledge which allows them to critically analyse both historical and contemporary sources of information and build an accurate picture of the past and the methods historians use to investigate it.
- Be challenged to develop their own opinions on causes and consequences as well as change, continuity and significance and through guided practice, they will become competent in articulating and justifying their opinions in both written and verbal form.
- Increase their cultural capital and understanding of the wider world focused around nine substantive historical concepts which reoccur time and again throughout their chronological study of history: society, economy, politics, power, war & conflict, democracy, religion, revolution, empire.
How the History curriculum contributes to the school’s curriculum intent:
Our curriculum supports students from all backgrounds, including those who are disadvantaged, so students can access a high-quality, knowledge-rich curriculum. Our school community believes strongly in providing disadvantaged pupils with a curriculum that enables them to reach the academic standards of their non-disadvantaged peers. Our goal is to bring our young people into the big conversations of our disciplines, to bring depth to our curriculum, so they can understand the world around them.
- Knowledge is developed about British history from the Romans through to the 20th This is also extended at KS3 to include the slave trade, the American Civil War and wider impact of WWI and WWII. In Y9 and into KS4 students will gain knowledge about the formation of the modern Germany and the rise of the Nazis; Life in Elizabethan England; how power has changed over 800 years of history through to modern day and the impact it has on people; the conflict between the East and West during the Cold War.
- Vocabulary rich through exposure to subject specific vocabulary to describe the past and reading and exploring a wide variety of written historical sources.
- Aspiration through challenging subject matter and difficult historical concepts. Challenge through investigating sources, critical and evaluative thinking, and extended writing. Formative feedback to support the culture of improvement – always can improve our work, knowledge, and learning.
- Character building through study and evaluation of events, people, and sources to make sense of the past and how it has impacted upon the world today. Resilience & mental toughness through the climate for learning in the history classroom: can-do culture, learn from mistakes, and improving work based on quality teacher feedback.
- Love learning as pupils study engaging historical events, people, and sources to develop critical thinking and wider historical skills. Deep human questions are tackled to engage and foster love of learning. Teaching methods use a range of techniques to engage pupils and foster a love of learning. Challenge is promoted through deep learning to develop pride in achievement to develop confidence, self-belief, and inspiration to learn more.
The History Learning Journey
History Knowledge Organisers
Autumn Term
Spring Term
Summer Term
Reading in History
In History, reading is prioritised, as one of core ambitions for our students is for them to be able to speak and write like a historian. This means that all year groups are exposed to a wide variety of historical sources and scholarly writing, which have not been altered to remove challenging language. Instead of denying pupils access to complex vocabulary, we support and guide our students to understand technical vocabulary and archaic terms which may no longer be in common usage. In addition, they are challenged constantly as the students use information they have gathered to produce written work of the highest quality, organising and structuring their arguments drawing upon evidence from a range of historical sources.
Learning Beyond the Classroom in History
In History, our students have travelled to the National Slavery Museum at the Albert Dock in Liverpool. This was linked to their study of the British Empire and its role in the Transatlantic Slave trade, in which the port of Liverpool was where many of the slave ships left England from. The students were able to deepen their understanding of the practice of slavery and its effects on the people who were captured and sold, as well as developing an understanding of local history and the role of the Northwest in such an infamous chapter in the history of the nation.
History documentary club
History documentary club meets every Wednesday after school, we are a dedicated group of historians who enjoy watching history documentaries! Anyone is welcome to join from Y7 – 10, and we regularly have every year group represented. In the autumn term we enjoyed a variety of documentaries that were of particular interest to our students in Y9 and Y10 who have been studying the causes of WWI and WWII. We have enjoyed WWII in colour, Long Road to War and Age of Tanks. This term will start with an episode of Digging up Britain’s Past with Helen Skelton. We discussed the Viking attack at Lindisfarne, which all our students look at in Y7. It was amazing to see archaeologists digging on Holy Island actively looking for evidence of the brutal attack of 793AD.
