History
'The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.' Theodore Roosevelt
History plays a pivotal role in the curriculum as it gives our students a context to place themselves both locally, nationally and globally. As author Michael Crichton states, without History ‘you are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree’. Knowledge of the past introduces students to exciting events and interesting people who have shaped the society we live in. History creates curiosity and gives students the cultural capital to engage with current events in an informed manner. The significant turning points and individuals studied through history can inspire our students to overcome difficulties, become tolerant individuals and have ambition to impact society. The academic study of history equips our students to critically analyse sources of information for their validity, to develop informed judgments on past events and explain their opinions.
Key Stage 3
We will study a knowledge focused chronological framework at Key Stage 3 incorporating the second-order historical concepts such as causation, significance and interpretation. We will also be developing specific study related to Sheffield at different points in the key events through time so there is a local context alongside the national and international history studied.
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Year 7
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The Norman Conquest Life in Medieval England Tudor England The English Civil War and Restoration Exploration The slave trade and abolition The British Empire
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We will begin at the start of the Medieval period in Year 7 examining the key events and individuals who shaped Britain up to the early 19th century. Our knowledge will include the role of the monarchy and how this has been challenged at different key points, the power of protest, and key beliefs changing over time. Students will be encouraged to make moral judgements over issues like slavery and the Empire, but also to see that black people were not merely ‘slaves’ in the history curriculum – incorporating recent work from Miranda Kaufmann’s book ‘Black Tudors’ for example. Key individuals who have brought about change will be considered such as Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell, Sir Francis Drake and William Wilberforce. |
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Year 8
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The Industrial Revolution World War One The fight for women’s suffrage The ‘roaring twenties’ in America Hitler’s rise to power in Germany and life under the Nazis The Holocaust
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The Year 8 Curriculum will begin with the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the influence this brought. Links will be made to previous study on the Empire. Socially we will examine issues such as child labour, life for working people in cities like Sheffield, and changes events such as the First World Wars brought. The impact of the War will be considered, as well as the interwar period of the 20s and 30s where some global history on the USA will give context to the Great Depression and its impact on Germany and Hitler’s rise to power. The concepts of democracy and dictatorship, terror and freedom, persecution and tolerance will be carefully explored within these topics. The Holocaust will be taught alongside other more modern genocides, and the issues of Anti-Semitism and other prejudices and the dangers of these will be addressed in this year’s study. The impact of individuals will be studied such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Emeline Pankhurst and Adolf Hitler. |
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Year 9 |
World War Two The Cold War The end of the British Empire Immigration in British society after World War II Civil Rights in 1960s America Apartheid in South Africa Northern Ireland - ‘Bloody Sunday’ Protest in the 1980s – miner’s strikes and race riots 9/11 and the ‘war on terror’ Achieving equality in Britain |
No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Nelson Mandela
Year 9 history will study history World War II and onwards. Students will study the turning points of the war and how Britain and its allies defeated Nazi Germany. Much of the rest of the study will focus on how Britain changed in the latter 20th century. We will consider issues such as conflict and peace, racial equality in Britain with links globally, and the power of protest in more recent history. These topics will link effectively to current events such as Brexit, the Northern Ireland issue, and radicalisation. Key individuals who have made a tremendous impact on the world we live in will be considered such as Winston Churchill, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Nelson Mandela. |
GCSE – Edexcel GCSE
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Medicine Through Time |
This is an excellent thematic study over a thousand year of history full of key individuals who helped change the world through their discoveries. Although focussed on medicine, this course addresses developments in other areas such as technology and government action which affected the four key time periods. The additional unit on World War One and its impact on medicine s an engaging one, where students study original source material. |
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Elizabethan England |
This period of Tudor History is full of exciting knowledge such as plots, rebellion, exploration and piracy. The story of how Elizabeth became one of the greatest monarchs against the issues of gender and legitimacy is an engaging one. |
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The American West |
This is a narrative of how America became a nation; with themes of expansion, determination, law and order and advancement. This is all set against the issues of conflict with the indigenous native Americans. |
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Weimar and Nazi Germany |
This unit studies Germany from 1918 to 1939 examining the democracy in 1918 and the conditions leading to the rise of Hitler and the dictatorship he created. Students learn the methods used to control people such as terror and propaganda and how life changed for the population. |