VISION
The purpose of the history curriculum is to help students gain coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. We want to inspire students’ curiosities to know more about the past and learn to ask perceptive questions, think critically, and develop perspective and judgement. We aim to do this by exploring diverse events, people and places with the aim of students not only seeing themselves in our curriculum but encountering knowledge, beliefs, and values, that they would not otherwise encounter. The history curriculum is intended as a journey. The curriculum is not just chronologically sequenced but also planned on concepts with students following conceptual threads from Years 7 to 11, allowing their understanding and familiarity with these concepts to develop over time. The main concepts students will encounter are listed below. This is not an exhaustive list but represents the main themes that students will explore.
- Power & Authority: The nature of power and how states were governed.
- Politics: Links closely to power and authority but focuses on the journey of democracy and political ideologies such as fascism, capitalism & communism.
- Religion: Familiarity with ideas such as martyrdom, pilgrimage and consideration of the impact of religion on society as a whole.
- Scientific & Technological advancement: Inventions and discoveries from different eras and how they have shaped attitudes.
- Conflict: Awareness of the complexity in the causation of conflict and the impact of conflict on nations and individuals.
- Empire: Familiarity with terms such as colonisation, imperialism, indigenous peoples. This thread should consider empire from a variety of perspectives both of imperial powers and colonised peoples and cultures.
- Society: Awareness of concepts such as feudalism, attitudes to others (race, gender etc.).
- Economics: Understanding of trade, slavery, industrialisaton and business and how these have developed over time.
Curriculum Overview Key Stage 3 – Years 7- 9
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Autumn
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Spring
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Summer
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Year 7
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Worldviews c. AD 1000
Students will learn about the diverse nature of the world in the 11th century focusing on the cities of Constantinople and Baghdad.
The Norman Conquest
Students will consider the events leading to the Battle of Hastings and the impact of the Norman Conquest on Britain.
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Medieval Religion
Students will study why religion played such a key role in medieval society. Topics include the afterlife and the First Crusade.
Challenges to Medieval monarchs
Students will study a variety of monarchs and assess how different events such as the Magna Carta, Black Death and Peasants’ Revolt changed England.
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Medieval Mali
Students will study the life of Mansa Musa and his legacy on West Africa.
The Renaissance
Students will study the impact of the Renaissance in areas such as science and consider how the age of exploration change the European medieval world.
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Knowledge Organiser Link
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Year 7 Autumn Term
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Year 7 Spring Term
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Year 7 Summer Term
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Year 8
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The Reformation
Students will learn why the Reformation occurred in England.
Religion and Tudor England
Students will consider the how religion changed so rapidly in Tudor England and the impact this had on society.
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The English Civil War
Students explore the causes of the English Civil War
The Transatlantic Slave Trade
Students will learn about how and why the trade started. Students will then compare the different interpretations for why abolition occurred.
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The Industrial Revolution
Students will learn about the origins of the revolution and think how British society changed as a result.
The British Empire
Students will learn about the establishment and the legacy of the British Empire. Students will also consider the experiences of indigenous people within the empire
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Knowledge Organiser Link
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Year 8 Autumn Term
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Year 8 Spring Term
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Year 8 Summer Term
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Year 9
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Causes of the Great War
Students will study the complex web of causation that led to the Great War.
Female suffrage
Students will study attitudes to women in the early twentieth century and the different factors that led to women gaining suffrage in Britain.
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Dictators of the 1930s
Students will study the rise of dictators in Europe. They will then consider how these events led to the Second World War and the impact that it had on international relations.
The Holocaust
Students will study the history of antisemitism and consider the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis.
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Civil Rights in the US and Britain
Students study the experiences of Black Americans after the abolition of slavery and the fight for civil rights. Students then look at the experiences of civil rights for Black British communities.
1250-1500: Medicine in medieval England
Students study the factors that led to change and continuity in medical understanding in the period.
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Knowledge Organiser Link
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Year 9 Autumn Term
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Year 9 Spring Term
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Year 9 Summer Term
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Curriculum Overview Key Stage 4 – Years 10-11
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Autumn
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Spring
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Summer
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Year 10
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1500-1700: The Medical Renaissance in England
Students study the factors that led to change and continuity in medical understanding in the period.
1700-1900: Medicine in 18th and 19th century Britain.
Students study the factors that led to change and continuity in medical understanding in the period.
c.1900 - present: Medicine in modern Britain
Students study the factors that led to change and continuity in medical understanding in the period.
The British sector on the Western Front, 1914-18: injuries, treatment and trenches
Students study the skills needed to assess sources in their historical context.
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The Weimar Republic 1918-29
Students will learn about the origins of the Weimar Republic and its early challenges. Students will then study the Weimar recovery and its impact on German society.
Hitler’s rise to power, 1919-33
Students will learn about the origins of the Nazi party and the events that led to Hitler’s chancellorship.
Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933-39
Students will learn about how the Nazis controlled Germany through the police state and by influencing attitudes.
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Life in Nazi Germany, 1933-39
Students will study the experiences of women, young people and minorities in Nazi Germany.
The origins of the Cold War, 1941-58
Students will learn about the new world order after the Second World War and why tensions increased between the USA and Soviet Union.
Cold War Crises, 1958-70
Students will study how events in Berlin, Cuba and Czechoslovakia had an impact on superpower relations.
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Knowledge Organiser Link
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Year 10 Autumn Term
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Year 10 Spring Term
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Year 10 Summer Term
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Year 11
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The end of the Cold War, 1970-91
Students will learn about the impact of détente on the Cold War and explore the events that led to the end of the Cold War.
Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest, 1060-66
Students will learn about Anglo Saxon society and the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
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William I in power: securing the kingdom, 1066-87
Students will study the methods that William I used to control England and the resistance that he faced.
Norman England, 1066-88
Students will learn about Norman society and consider the changes the Normans brought to England.
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Revision
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Knowledge Organiser Link
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Year 11 Autumn Term
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Year 11 Spring Term
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Year 11 Summer Term
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Exam Board Links
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https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/history-2016.html
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Wider Reading
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Extra-curricular opportunities:
History Club – Years 7-10
We endeavor to offer a residential trip in Year 10 linked to our GSCE curriculum. Previous trips have included:
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Revision Guides
There are a variety of revision guides available. Please ensure they are Pearson Edexcel specific and are on the topics below:
Academic Reading
General overview of many KS3 topics:
Higher level reading for KS4:
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Blood and Guts: A short history of medicine, Roy Porter
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The Coming of the Third Reich, R.J. Evans
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The Norman Conquest, Marc Morris
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Other Links (social media, YouTube)
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Seneca
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BBC bitesize
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YouTube –BBC Teach
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Career opportunities and resources (UL)
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