Our Curriculum

History

Subject Leader: Miss C Killackey

If you wish to learn more about our curriculum please contact the Subject Lead by clicking on their name above.

Key Stage 4

GCSE History

Exam Board: Edexcel

Course Overview

Pupils study the GCSE course from the beginning of year 10 with all examinations taking place at the end of Year 11. Our British Thematic Study with Historic Environment unit is Crime and Punishment in Britain, c1000 to present. This has a 30% weighting.  Our British Depth Study is Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88 with Superpower relations and the Cold War,1941–91 as our period study. This holds a 40% weighting. Our Modern Depth Study is Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39 with a 30% weighting.

Assessment: 100% examination

Key Stage 5

A Level History

Exam Board: AQA

Course Overview

1A The Age of the Crusades, c1071–1204

This option allows students to study in breadth issues of change, continuity, cause and consequence in this period through the following key questions:

●    What were the motives of the crusaders and the counter-crusaders?
●    What problems faced the states in Outremer and how successfully were these problems addressed?
●    How important were faith and ideas for Christians and Muslims?
●    What was the impact of the crusades on the Muslim Near East?
●    How did the Byzantine Empire, Outremer and the Latin West change and what influenced relations between them?
●    How important was the role of key individuals and groups and how were they affected by developments?

2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499

This option provides for the study in depth of a period in which the English monarchy suffered instability and the country was subjected to a range of political, economic and social pressures. It develops concepts such as authority, hierarchy, faction and legitimacy. It also encourages students to reflect on the sources of power within a state, causes of political breakdown and the impact of dynastic instability on the ‘common people’.

Historical investigation (Personal study)

Assessment: 80% examination, 20% coursework.

 

Curriculum Content

Year 7

Term 1: How far did the Romans change Britain?

Term 2: How true is Schema’s interpretation that the Norman Conquest was a truckload of trouble?

Term 3: How did religion influence everyday life in the Middle Ages?

Term 4: From rats to rebels; what challenges did medieval monarchs face?

Term 5: How was the Tudor reign secured?

Term 6: Turbulent or terrific; what is the legacy of the Tudor dynasty?

Year 8

Term 1: How did religion continue to cause conflict in the Early Modern Era?

Term 2: Why was the world turned upside down?

Term 3: In the Age of Empires; how and why did Britain build its Empire?

Term 4:In the Age of Empires; what are the different perspectives and experiences of the British Empire?

Term 5: What was revolution in the age of revolutions?

Term 6: How were monarchies threatened by Enlightenment?

Year 9

Term 1: Why was WW1 a global conflict?

Term 2: What political and economic changes emerged during the Interwar Years?

Term 3: To what extent did Britain keep calm and carry on during WW2?

Term 4: How and why can a lack of tolerance and extreme ideologies lead to persecution?

Term 5: Why did the sun set on the British Empire?

Term 6: How are Civil Rights gained in the US and UK?

Year 10

Term 1-Paper 1-Crime and punishment in Britain, c1000–present and Whitechapel, c1870–c1900: crime, policing and the inner city.

  • What had the greatest influence on medieval crime, punishment and law enforcement?
  • To what extent were there changes to crime, punishment and law enforcement  in the Early Modern Era?
  • How did changing attitudes impact crime, punishment and law enforcement, 1700-1900?

Term 2 --Paper 1-Crime and punishment in Britain, c1000–present and Whitechapel, c1870–c1900: crime, policing and the inner city.

  • What has influenced crime, punishment and law enforcement in modern times?
  • Why was Whitechapel so hard to police in the late 19th century?

Term 3- Paper 2 Anglo Saxon and Norman England, 1060-1088.

  • How was Anglo-Saxon society divided and how did this lead to a succession crisis and subsequent Norman invasion?
  • How did William secure power from 1066-1087?

Term 4- Paper 2 Anglo Saxon and Norman England, 1060-1088.

  • How did William secure power from 1066-1087?
  • How did Norman England change from 1066-1088?

Term 5-Paper 3-Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939

  • To what extent did the Weimar government overcome its initial challenges?
  • What steps did Hitler take to rise to power between 1919-1933?

Term 6-Paper 3-Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939

  • What steps did Hitler take to rise to power between 1919-1933?
  • How did Hitler create a totalitarian dictatorship?

Year 11

Term 1:Paper 3-Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939

  • How did Hitler create a totalitarian dictatorship?
  • What was life like in Nazi Germany for women, youth, workers and minorities, 1933-1939?

Term 2: Paper 2-Superpowers and the Cold War, 1941-1991

  • What led to the creation of frosty relations between the superpowers?

Term 3:Paper 2-Superpowers and the Cold War, 1941-1991

  • What was the importance of the three cold war crises on the relations between the superpowers, 1958-1970?

Term 4: Paper 2-Superpowers and the Cold War, 1941-1991

  • What led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, 1970-1991? 

Term 5: Preparation for GCSE examinations.

Term 6: Preparation for GCSE examinations.

 Key Stage 5 Curriculum Content

Year 12

Crusades

Unit 1 The origins of conflict and the First Crusade, c1071–c1099.

The Crusader States and Outremer (Levant), c1071–1149 , The origins of conflict and the First Crusade, c1071–c1099  and Papacy.

    • DQ-Why was the Church so influential in Europe and how does this explain penance and penitence?
    • DQ: How did the spread of Islam bring conflict with Europe by the 11th Century?

Unit 2 The foundation of new states and the Second Crusade, c1099–1149.

The foundation of New States and the Second Crusade, c1099–1149 and The Second Crusade and Loss of Edessa 1144-45.

    • DQ - How did the Franks defend their Bastion of Christianity?
    • DQ- How and Why was the second Crusade always doomed to failure, despite its leadership of Kings?

 

War of the Roses

The Fall of the House of Lancaster; 1450–1471

Unit 1 - The Origins of Conflict, 1450-1458

    • DQ- How did challenges to the House of Plantagenet lead to conflict?

Unit 2 - The War of the Barons, 1459–1461

    • DQ- How and why did the War of the Barons contribute to the downfall of the Lancasters?

Unit 3 - The Triumph of the Yorkist, 1461-1471

    • DQ-How and why did the Yorkists triumph in 1461-71?

Year 13

Crusades

Unit 3 The Revival of Islam and the later Crusades, 1149–1204 and  The revival of Islam and the later Crusades, 1149–1187.

    • DQ-In what ways did Nur ad-Din lay the foundations for a Muslim resurgence in the Holy Land?

Unit 4 The Third and Fourth Crusades, 1187–1204.

The Third Crusade, 1187 - 1192

    • DQ- How did the fall of Hattin in 1187 trigger first the ‘Auditi Tremendi’ and then the recapture of Jerusalem? 

 The Fourth Crusade, 1199-1204

    • DQ- How and why was the formation of the Fourth Crusade  blighted by indecision and poor communication and by summer 1202  doomed to fail?

War of the Roses

The Fall of the House of York;1471–1499

Unit 4 - The Sun in Splendour; The Reign of Edward IV, 1471-1483

    • DQ- What is the validity of the claim that Edward IV’s reign from 1471-83 was ‘The Sun in Splendour’?

Unit 5 - The Downfall of the Yorkist Monarchy, 1483-1486

    • DQ- Why did a succession crisis lead to the downfall of the Yorkist dynasty?

Unit 6 - The End of the Yorkist Dynasty, 1486-1499

    • DQ- How did Henry Tudor manage to eradicate the Yorkist dynasty?

 

Useful Information

Suggested Revision Guides and Books

Crime and Punishment-GCSE Revision Guide

Weimar and Nazi Germany--GCSE Revision Guide

Anglo Saxons and Norman England-GCSE Revision Guide

Superpower relations and the Cold War-GCSE Revision Guide

A Level-War of the Roses-A Level History

Crusades-A Level History-A Level History

Out of School Learning (OSL) and Extracurricular Activities

 

  • GCSE History OSL runs every Monday after school from 3pm-4pm with Year 11 teachers.
  • Trips for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 include WW1 Trenches at Detling Hill, Whitechapel and the possibility of an overseas trip, after a successful and enjoyable trip to Berlin in February 2019 and another one in planning for October 2024.