Our intent is to empower students to question the world around them, guided by an understanding of past events and concepts, and how these have shaped our current societies. We begin with the medieval era and end in the 20th century, ensuring a wide variety of topics are offered to represent diverse histories. Our lessons aim to embed skills in source analysis and comparing interpretations, as well as analysing contextual material to reach substantiated evaluations and judgements. 

Throughout the curriculum, we have incorporated activities requiring students to develop their skills in independent and collaborative research and the management of long-term projects, key to the ‘getting life ready’ agenda. The school’s commitment to literacy is also reinforced in history as we guide students towards effective and balanced communication, both orally and in written form.  

History is very popular within the school, with over three quarters of students opting for the subject at GCSE. This popularity is a result of excellent teaching, committed staff and real enthusiasm for the subject, which is shared by staff and students alike.  We love our subject, and our prime objective is always to imbue students with a similar passion for history. 

Co-curricular enrichment 

• Diversity in History Club 
• History Hero initiative 
• Careers in Humanities Speaker event 
• WW1 Battlefields trip  

KS3 (Year 7 – 9) 

Students have three history lessons a fortnight. They begin with medieval history and end with the post-WW2 era at the end of Year 9.  Students are taught transferable skills including source analysis and evaluation, how to structure and substantiate written essays, and how to compare and contrast historical interpretations. The department utilises a wide variety of teaching resources and strategies, including source work, role plays, debates, and written and oral presentations. 

Students undertake an independent learning project every year which develops research and time management skills, whilst pursuing an area of independent enquiry beyond the taught curriculum.  We reward students for reading widely and have a forum for them to recommend historical books to one another which could well earn them the coveted History Hero badge! 

GCSE (Year 10 – 11) 

The topics covered are:  

The Elizabethan Age: 1558-1603, The USA: A Nation of Contrasts 1910-1929, the Development of Germany: 1919-1991, and changes in Health and Medicine in Britain: c.500 to the present day. The requirement to study a historic site is part of the Thematic Study. 

For more information on the GCSE course, download our GCSE Options Guide. 

 A-Level (Year 12 – 13) 

The A-Level course enables students to study some of the formative developments in British, European and world history, and the way these affected the lives of people living through them.   

Content includes: 

Britain Transformed: 1918 – 97, the USA 1955 – 92: Conformity and Challenge, Ireland and the Union: 1774 – 1923 plus coursework: choice of topic. 

For more information, download a copy of the Sixth Form Prospectus and,  for more information on the course content, download a copy of the A-Level Options Guide.