History

–          The misconception of a homogenous ‘British’ race is challenged as students encounter diverse groups who made Britain their home. Beginning with Britannia as a Roman colony, through to the Dark Ages, the Angles and Saxons, Vikings, ending with the Norman invasion and its impact.

–          Various aspects of medieval life are studied, including villages, crime, punishment and medicine, with students discovering the vital role of the Church in each. This begins their schema on religion, which provides a basis for later KS3 and KS4 units of work.

–          The Tudor monarchs and their impacts on church and state are studied, from Henry VII to Elizabeth I, as well as ‘history from below’. Tudor society is examined from a variety of angles, e.g., its multiculturalism, religious tensions, culture, and education, and hierarchy. Links to GCSE depth study.

–          Conflict of various kinds is explored through the English Civil War, problematising the Divine Right of Kings and introducing student to key concepts of parliament and democracy. Students encounter Oliver Cromwell and his influence on politics and religion.

–          Origins and examples of British imperialism are explored, from Virginia to penal Australia, interwoven with a study of the transatlantic slave trade to exhibit our close ties to colonial exploitation.

–          Factories grow and Britain is urbanised, as the nature of political power and thought is changed. The backdrop of technological advancement contextualises radical changes for all classes of society.

–          Titanic, WW1, Suffrage, the origins of the welfare state, Spanish influenza, the Russian Revolution… but what had the greatest impact? Students are encouraged to draw links across topics to get a thorough picture of the period

–          Students are introduced to Nazi policy and methods of control to contextualise the atrocities of the holocaust. Students encounter examples of antisemitism from across time to deconstruct the misconception that the Nazis created this as a new idea. (compulsory topic)

–          Students evaluate a range of watershed moments in the Civil Rights movement, as well as encountering challenging topics of white supremacy then and now, in order to assess the relative success of the Civil Rights movement overall. As the last unit in KS3, this requires a mature and sophisticated approach to source material.