History

Department Overview

History is a large and enthusiastic department with five classrooms within a dedicated building for Humanities. The department currently consists of seven teachers that teach across the Key Stages.

All students study History in Key Stage 3. In Year 7, 8, and 9 students have two lessons a week whilst students in Year 10 and 11 will complete six lessons a week. The subject continues to be the most popular option choice.

Key Stage 3 Curriculum Overview (Years 7-8)

Students in Key Stage 3 follow a chronological study of History. Throughout each topic, students are challenged to use the narrative of the subject to evaluate the causes and consequences of the topics studied. We also challenge the students to develop their historical skills by critically considering the context and provenance of the sources that they use.

In Year 7, students are given an introduction into chronological understanding and how, as historians, we learn about the past. Students spend the rest of the first term investigating the settlement of Britain from 0 CE to 1250, including the Iron Age, Romans, Saxons, and Normans. During the Spring term students investigate religion, conflict, and life in the Medieval period, with case studies of the Crusades, the Plague and the Peasants Revolt. In the Summer term students spend time studying the revolutionary turmoil of the Tudor and Stuart dynasties and the French Revolution.

In Year 8, students move on to studying the growth of the British Empire, slavery and the Industrial Revolution. Students then move onto our World at War module, completing studies of WWI and WWII. Finally, in the Summer term students investigate social justice, completing case studies on Civil Rights, Suffrage and the LBGTQ+ movement.

The expectation is that students in Year 9 start their GCSE curriculum in advance of Year 10; regardless of option choice. In September 2021 Year 9 will begin studying the OCR KS4 curriculum.

OCR KS4 Curriculum Overview (Years 9-11)

GCSE students follow the OCR Schools History Project B curriculum for the 9-1 GCSE. The History GCSE is split into three different exam papers.

Paper 1 – British History
Paper 2 – History Around Us (local history study)
Paper 3 –World History

Paper 1 – This paper is divided into two topic sections. Section A is our thematic study – Migrants to Britain, c.1250-Present. Section B is our British depth study – The Elizabethans, 1580-1603. Each section is worth 20% of the total GCSE.

Paper 2 – This paper is a local history study of Portchester castle focusing on change and continuity over time and the significance of the site. It is worth 20% of the total GCSE.

Paper 3 – This paper is divided into two topic sections. Section A is our period study – The Making of America, 1789-1900. Section B is our world depth study – Living life under Nazi Rule, 1933-1945. Each section is worth 20% of the total GCSE.

In Year 9 students begin their GCSE course by studying their English breadth study of Migrants to Britain, in March they move onto their world depth study of life in Nazi Germany, including a focus on the Holocaust.

In Year 10 students continue their GCSE with their English depth study of Elizabethan England, followed by their world breadth study focusing on the Making of America.

In Year 11 students complete their GCSE study with their local history study of Portchester castle through time. Teaching of the core content is concluded by the end of the Autumn term, from January onward the focus shifts to targeted revision to support the students in achieving their best possible grade.