History

History Website

History

History is a rich academic subject with the power to fascinate pupils and inspire curiosity, as well as to answer key questions about their place in the world. We will provide our students with an understanding of Britain’s past, and that of the wider world. This includes studying the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as developing a sense of their own identity and the challenges of their time. Core concepts underpin this understanding, as we develop pupils’ disciplinary knowledge of cause and consequence, change and continuity, similarity and difference, significance, chronological understanding and using evidence.

“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.” Michael Crichton

History Learning Journey

Learning Journey & Subject Handbook

At Key Stage Two, we develop all of our core concepts by studying a range of topics, covering the National Curriculum, and going beyond it. We begin with a development study, focusing on invention over time, before completing two of our ancient civilisation studies, Ancient Egyptians and The Maya. In Year 6, we begin with our local History unit, moving on to study Ancient Greece* and then finishing with Our Migration Story, which will help pupils understanding of the people and events that have shaped Britain’s past and created the multi-cultural and diverse society we have today.

We refer back to Year 6 learning as we start off Year 7 with our study of the Normans, and continue through the challenging events of Plantagenet, Tudor, and Stuart England, before moving onto global history through our study of the Silk Roads. Topics have overarching enquiry questions, so we ask pupils: Did the Normans (and their descendants) bring “a truckload of trouble? Was the World Turned Upside Down? What was the significance of the Silk Roads?

As pupils move into Year 8, we study the concept of revolution, by focusing on the American, French and Industrial Revolutions. Then we move onto a study of Empire, with a specific focus on West Africa. Finally, we focus on key turning points of the Twentieth Century, which prepares our students for the move to high school. Our enquiry questions here are: Did Revolutions cause chaos or calm? How did Empire affect West Africa? And ‘Was the 20th century the ‘century of change?’

As well as developing substantive and disciplinary knowledge, we develop cross-curricular links and skills, linking our learning to key reads at KS2 and developing skills of critical thinking, evaluating evidence, understanding perspective, and reaching conclusions across key stages. Literacy plays a crucial role in our learning, with reading and scholarship being embedded into lessons. Extra-curricular and hands-on learning support our curriculum, from whole school competitions and assemblies to educational visits. Most importantly, History will add to student’s cultural capital, helping them understand how the world they live in came to be.

Please click here to view the History Handbook.

To view our History Learning Journey please click here.

Assessment

Formative

Each lesson has recap, learning checks and a self-reflection, to ensure misunderstandings and misconceptions are identified and addressed through reteaching.  After key tasks and assessments, pupils receive feedback and complete an improvement phase, to encourage a culture of continuous improvement and progress.

Summative

At both key stages we assess pupils’ understanding through two core assessments per unit, which check both substantive and disciplinary knowledge. These scores, along with judgements based on classwork, provide data which we then use to monitor progress at three data points throughout each year.

 

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Get in Touch

Please contact the school office with any questions, comments or feedback.