Subject Department and  Lead(s)

Subject: History

Head of Department: Miss L Hill

Curriculum Area Vision and Intent

“If you don’t know History then you don’t know anything, you are a leaf that does not know it is part of a tree.”

History is the root from which everything we are, everything we have and everything we know has grown. The study of History provides a unique opportunity to understand how and why the world is the way it is; to understand our place in the present and most importantly, the impact we can have on the future. 

The intent of the History Curriculum at THA is:    

• To appreciate that History is not just the story of Kings, Queens and glorious battles, but the story of ordinary people; the story of us had we lived in a different century. That progress and modernity are not inevitable, but determined by the actions, thoughts and motivation of people just like us.
• To enable students to develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of key events, periods and societies in local, British and wider world History. This knowledge entitlement enables students to discover and appreciate the diversity of human experience which in turn will inform their own personal choices, values and attitudes.
• To enable students to realise that the past is gone and that History is constructed and contested. History will teach students the necessary skills to become analytical members of society who can question human motivation and actions with skill and confidence.
• To promote a culture of curiosity and empathy, whereby students have the confidence to ask and answer pertinent questions about the past that help them to understand their own sense of being.
• To engage students in historical enquiry to develop as independent, critical and reflective thinkers.
• To enable students to present independent opinions about historical concepts that are well written, coherently organised, evidenced appropriately and inclusive of a wide range of historical terminology. 
• To create a knowledge connected curriculum in which students gain a sense of historical context and perspective which allows them to understand how and why things have changed, at what pace and at what cost.

KS3 provision summary

 e.g. topics covered, links to SOW/overviews and homework

The KS3 History curriculum is a vitally important and challenging phase of students learning. It is designed to be ambitious, enjoyable and knowledge rich; sparking students curiosity to learn more about the roots from which they have grown. Students are taught how to become Historically literate by writing, speaking and adopting the habits of successful Historians. The KS3 Curriculum strives to embed knowledge and skills that will be of paramount importance in both KS4 and life beyond THA.

The knowledge entitlement featured in the History Curriculum has been deliberately chosen and designed to create opportunities for all of our students to feel represented in the curriculum but also to provide opportunities for recognising and appreciating the diversity of human experience which they might not otherwise have access to in the local community. For example, investigating “What if the Islamic Empire had conquered Europe?” “What can Black Africans reveal about Tudor England?”

The History curriculum at THA is taught chronologically, whilst making explicit reference to the core themes that have shaped the world as we know it: migration, power, war and conflict, innovation, international issues, religion and individual achievements. Students will visit each of these themes in Year 7, 8 and 9, so that as well as revisiting their existing knowledge, it is extended and applied in a different historical context. This allows students to understand how and why change happens and to acknowledge that change is not always synonymous with progress. The KS3 curriculum is also designed to embed key skills and knowledge that will be built upon at KS4 to ensure there is contextual understanding and familiarity. For example, Year 7 look at “Who healed the sick in Medieval England? How?” and “Was the Black Death a total disaster?” followed by an international comparison with “Who healed the sick in Medieval Baghdad? How?” with the Year 8 Curriculum building on this by looking at “What was medicine like in the C16?”, “How ‘Vile’ was Victorian medicine?” and finally Year 9 investigate “How did WWI revolutionise medicine?” All of this knowledge is revisited and built upon in the AQA Health and the People unit at KS4.

Year 7 Curriculum Map.pdf

Year 8 Curriculum Map.pdf

Year 9 Curriculum Map.pdf

KS4 provision summary

e.g. topics covered, links to SOW/overviews and homework

At KS4, students follow the AQA syllabus as it provides a well-balanced curriculum that is both engaging and challenging.  The units chosen have been deliberately selected based upon their links to our KS3 curriculum. Studying such a breadth of topics will be particularly rewarding for students who decide to pursue History post 16.

The four topics studied are:

• Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and dictatorship
• Conflict and tension in Asia, 1950-1975
• Britain: Health and the people: c1000 to the present day
• Elizabethan England 1568-1603

Students start the course by looking at Germany 1890-1945 as this extends their learning from Year 9, building on the concepts of democracy and dictatorship.

Students then move on to study Conflict and tension in Asia as this allow them to place the knowledge acquired in the Germany unit in a different historical context to understand how and why war broke out in Korea and the USA.

After this, students study Elizabethan England, building on and extending knowledge embedded at KS3 such as religious changes and voyages of exploration. Students will also have the opportunity to visit a key Elizabethan site as part of their study of a historic environment.

Students conclude their GCSE course by looking at Britain: Health and the people which again extends and consolidates knowledge acquired at KS3 to prove a thematic overview of how and why medicine has changed. Studying this unit at the end of the course provides a further opportunity for students to understand change within a chronological framework.

Year 10 Curriculum Map.pdf

Staff

Up to date list and school email addresses

Miss L Hill (Acting Head of History)

E-mail: lhill@theherefordacademy.org.uk

Mr S Tudor (Teacher of Humanities)

E-mail: sptudor@theherefordacademy.org.uk

Mr E Snelgrove (Deputy Headteacher)

E-mail: esnelgrove@theherefordacedemy.org.uk

Extra-curricular activities

Exam information and any revision support

AQA History:  https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/history/gcse/history-8145

Bitesize revision:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/examspecs/zxjk4j6