The History KS3 curriculum is set up to enable students to understand the world they live in and how it got to this point, the key characters, events, discoveries and inventions that have brought us to this point.

What is taught and how?

History is taught chronologically from the 11^th century up to the 21^st. We cover British and international History and look at key turning points in the past, everything from the Norman Conquest to the first man on the moon. Students develop their skills through enquiry style lessons using various strategies, resources and skills. Every lesson is a question that students investigate to build an understanding of the past. The skill set is transferable across the curriculum and sets our students up for GCSE should they chose to study History. More details on what is studied in each year can be found below.

Assessment

Students are assessed through regular knowledge testing and interleaving of topics as well as longer answer questions in timed conditions to develop their skills of supporting their evaluation, explanation and argument with relevant and accurate facts.

Homework

Homework focuses on building revision skills and encouraging students to try different methods to see which ones work best for them. We also set research homework so they can preview their learning and extend their contextual knowledge of the topic.

Year 7

Students follow a chronological study from 1066 and the Battle of Hastings through to the rise of the Tudors and the reign of Elizabeth I. They study key events from this period focusing on the themes of ‘Power and the People’ and ‘Everyday Life’, including topics like William I’s control of England; the murder of Thomas Becket; the Magna Carta; the Peasants’ Revolt; Robin Hood; the Black Death; the Wars of the Roses; the Reformation and the Spanish Armada.

Year 8

Students follow a chronological study from 1601 and the reign of James I through the reign of Victoria and into the modern world by looking at the causes and events of WW1. They study key events from this period focusing on the themes of ‘Power and the People’ and ‘Everyday Life’, including topics like the Gunpowder Plot; the English Civil War; Oliver Cromwell-‘hero or villain?’; highwaymen; smugglers; transportation; the Slave Trade; Victorian Britain; the Industrial Revolution; the sinking of the Titanic and the causes and events of WW1.

Year 9

Students follow a chronological study from 1918 through to modern history. They study key events from this period focusing on the themes of ‘Power and the People’ and ‘Everyday Life’, including topics like the Treaty of Versailles; the League of Nations; the Suffragettes; the Russian Revolution; the rise of the dictators-Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler; the causes of WW2; the experience of people during WW2; the Holocaust; Hiroshima; the Cold War; the assassination of JFK; Civil Rights in the US and modern terrorism.

Year 10

Students follow the AQA GCSE syllabus.  Year 10 focuses on Conflict and Tension 1918-1939; Health and the People or (depending on the teacher) Migration, Empires and the People c1000 to the present day, and the first module of the Germany 1890-1945 course. Regular subject knowledge tests take place with regular interweaving of exam questions, revision techniques and exam skills into the subject content.

Year 11

Students complete the AQA GCSE syllabus and Year 11 focuses on the rest of the Germany 1890-1945 course and the reign of Elizabeth I including the Historic Environment question. Regular subject knowledge tests take place with regular interweaving of exam questions, revision techniques and exam skills into the subject content. Revision lessons take place once the course is complete and this is developed based on the needs of the Year 11 students each year.