“History should include the lives of great men and women, and the lessons to be learnt there from”
(National Curriculum)
History is part of the Humanities faculty.
Key stage 3
All students at Key Stage 3 learn History. They have three 60-minute lessons per fortnight. Students are set homework every other lesson. Homework may sometimes consist of research and we encourage students to use all available facilities to produce this. Homework tasks will be varied and we encourage students to develop their own lines of interpretation.
Assessment History is by National Curriculum Assessments, of which there are three formal ones in each year group. Students will be given a variety of assessment types from essays, timed source analysis tasks to mind-maps and students, and students are also given the choice on occasions enabling them to present their work in their preferred learning style.
Year 7
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
| Introductory Unit: What’s it all about? What is History? Historical Skills |
Rulers and the Ruled (The Middle Ages)
Village and Town Life
|
Rulers and the Ruled (The Middle Ages)
How the Church controlled people
|
|
Rulers and the Ruled (The Middle Ages)
The Norman Conquest
Village and Town Life
|
The Black Death and Peasant’s Revolt |
What happened when Rulers lost control?
|
Assessment in History is marked according to National Curriculum level. There are three formal assessments a year, which are as follows:-
- Essay - Was the Norman Conquest good for England?
- Source Evaluation - How hard was a Peasant’s life?
- Mind Map Skills - Was the Black Death a complete disaster?
There will also be regular informal assessment of students and opportunities for peer and self-assessment. Students will be advised how to improve their attainment after each assessment. Each assessment is designed to allow students to show their historical skills, knowledge and understanding.
Homework is set according to the whole school homework timetable and will be varied and challenging. For example it could take the form of research activities, project work, essays, source evaluation and the consolidation of their understanding using a variety of learning techniques.
Year 8
All students in Year 8 will follow the course outlined below:
Rights, Responsibilities and Democracy
| Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
| Slavery to Equality |
The French Revolution
|
Dying for the Vote: The Chartists Death study: Local study on the Wycombe Swing Riots
|
|
Black Civil Rights in the US
|
What is Democracy? |
Dying for the Vote: The Suffragette Movement
|
Year 8 students use a variety of textbooks to assist their learning including:
Peace and War Schools History Project – John Murray Press
Black Peoples of the Americas – Oxford University Press
Dying for the Vote
Year 9
All students in Year 9 will follow the course outlined below:
Year 9: Hot War, Cold War
Autumn Term
Depth Study of Jack the Ripper
Causes of World War 1
Spring Term
Trench Life
Rise of the Dictators
Summer
Independent project on World War 2
Special Study – The Holocaust
The Cold War
Year 9 students use a variety of textbooks to assist their learning including:
Peace and War Schools History Project – John Murray
Europe: Divided and United – Longman Press
Key stage 4
Year 10
History at Holmer Green Senior School forms part of the Humanities Faculty and the current GCSE Syllabus is delivered over five 60-minute periods per fortnight.
In Year 10 students begin their GCSE course by studying ‘Germany 1919-1945’: Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start? How was Hitler able to come to power in Germany? What was it like to live in Nazi Germany? This is examined in two ways, using source interpretation skills and questions that test students’ understanding of change over time.
Before the end of Year 10, students will complete a controlled assessment: History Around Us or Modern World Study. This is worth 25% of the GCSE and the task will be issued by OCR each year.
Year 11
Students will complete a study in development. Medicine and Health through time:
The Prehistoric Age – Ancient Egypt – Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome – The Medieval Period – The Renaissance
The 19th Century – The 20th Century
- What caused people to be healthy or unhealthy?
- Who provided medical care?
- What caused diagnoses and treatments to remain the same or change?
- How far did new ideas and treatments affect the majority of the population?
- What ideas did people have about the courses and treatment of illness and injuries?
At the end of Year 11 there will be an opportunity to complete a Revision Programme.
75% of the GCSE is based on two examinations at the end of the course.
Paper 1 – source based and knowledge based questions on ‘Medicine and Health’ and ‘Germany 1919-1945’.
Paper 2 – Source based questions on Development in British Medicine 1200-1945.
Recommended Text:
Dawson & Culson, Medicine and Health Through Time (Foundation copy also available)
Lacy & Shephard, Germany 1918-1945 (Foundation copy also available)
Key stage 5
For futher information on Key stage 5 please refer to the Sixth Form Prospectus