In the History Department, we believe that the best way to know where we're going is to understand how we got here. We believe that history gives us vital knowledge, tools and skills with which to not only understand the past but also to change the future. We have four enthusiastic history teachers, who are immensely passionate about their subject. We believe history is an utterly fascinating area, taking students on a rich journey through battles, revolutions, castles, warriors, empires, mad-kings, vicious dictators, great heroes and villains, and moments of tremendous drama and inspiration. We also believe that history teaches student vital skills that can be used across a range of disciplines, including analysing information, forming two-sided arguments, making a point, and drawing a conclusion.
Resources
The History Department is housed in the Stableyard section of the College site next to Lower School. There are three classrooms dedicated to history in this part of the site. Each classroom has a fully-interactive board for projecting lessons. Pupils often complete work digitally on their own devices connected to the high-speed wireless network.
Additional Opportunities
The History Department offers a wide range of exciting trips, both locally and abroad. We have recently taken Year 10 and Year 11 students to the Normandy Battlefields to see for themselves the bunkers and memorials on the beach. We also take A-Level History students to London to explore the British Museum and on a Walking Tour of the city's colonial legacy. We are also planning future trips, including a trip to Berlin. In the summer term, we are very excited to be hosting a Medieval Day for Lower School, where a special workshop team will be arriving with clothes, weapons and tools to show what life was really like in the Middle Ages.
Curriculum
Key Stage 3
Key Stage 3 students enjoy two lessons a week of History. We offer an exciting, challenging, outward-looking and diverse curriculum that takes students through a wide-range of different topics. Students will journey from the early English settlers, to William the Conqueror's cavalry charge at Hastings, watch stone castles go up, study the way of the samurai, feel the rage of the French Revolution, analyse the impact of the Industrial Revolution, and much, much more, including all the way up to the world wars, the rise of the Nazis, and the start of modern Britain in Year 9. We are very proud of our Key Stage 3 history curriculum and think that all students will enjoy it.
IGCSE
We are delighted to have a high and growing uptake of students choosing IGCSE History. Students are taught in small groups for three lessons a week. We cover a fascinating and broad range of topics. We use the Pearson Edexcel IGCSE specification. This starts with Modern China, 1900-1989; then Weimar-Nazi Germany; followed by the Russian Revolution, 1905-1924; and finally Superpower Relations in the Cold War, 1945-1971. We put a broad emphasis not just on the historical knowledge, but also on the skills necessary for being successful in the exam, including analysis, explanation, and evaluation.
Sixth Form
Students are required to achieve a Level 6 in history or English literature at IGCSE in order to quality for A-Level history. We believe that A-Level history is an exciting, demanding and rewarding subject with enormous relevance. At A-Level, we use the AQA Specification. Students study history for six lessons a week in small classes. Our first component is the British Empire and Imperialism, 1857-1967. Our second component is the Russian Revolution and the Dictatorship of Stalin, 1917-1953. In our coursework module, which is 20% of the overall A-Level grade, students have to grapple with primary sources and different historical interpretations on the subject of Tudor Rebellions. We encourage students to be engaged with their own outside reading as well as their classroom studies. We believe that A-Level history suits a wide-range of students, and can open many doors in the future, leading to future careers in politics, law, economics, journalism, the Foreign Office, business, conservation, and education.