History

History is incredible, fascinating, complex and at times shocking. This course is packed full of interesting people, places, events and colourful stories. We explore the problems, choices and beliefs of people in the past and try to understand why things happened the way that they did. The GCSE History course helps us to understand where we came from, which shapes our decisions about the world around us and our future. There is no one way of seeing the past so you will make your own judgements and challenge and question each other and your teachers. History develops problem solving, critical thinking, research and communication skills. It builds your confidence in a wide range of transferable skills that will help you in your other GCSEs, future studies and careers.

If you would rather debate, discuss and deliberate than be told the ‘facts’, then this is the course for you.

Three written exams.  Each paper is 33% towards the final grade.

GCSE History can lead to any A Level in Humanities, Politics or Social Science. Post-Sixth Form it is a benchmark academic qualification that will open doors to university or employment.  Research reveals that History turns out more directors of top companies than any other subject, the average starting salary for a History Graduate is £25,000.

History provides a good background for all Arts and Social Science careers. It is useful for careers in Archaeology, Heritage, Archive and Museum work. The skills you learn from studying History include investigating, researching documents, examining evidence and presenting arguments. These are valuable in a great number of careers, including Law, Journalism, Politics and Management.

Half Term 1 - Key Skills and local history

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Students will begin to learn the key skills of significance, causation, evidence and change over time. They will learn these skills through local and school history in the context of national and world History. They will start to look at types of historical sources and how they are used to form points of view culminating in the students creating their own museum about the history of Glyn School. Students will begin to look at Historical interpretations of Winston Churchill and how to judge whether these are deserved based on their own knowledge.

Half Term 2 - The Battle of Hastings and The Norman Conquest

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Students will use skills learned in the previous unit to assess why William of Normandy won the Battle of Hastings. Primary sources will be used to judge the impact of the Norman Conquest on the UK and the local area. Pupils will then use this knowledge to judge the accuracy of other people's arguments about the success of the Norman invasion to learn about how the lives of ordinary people changed after 1066. 

Half Term 3 -Monarchy and the church: the struggle for power

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit focuses on learning about Medieval religious belief and how it impacted all levels of society. Pupils will use sources to learn about what Medieval people believed. This unit will also look at how Medieval England interacted with other cultures in the form of the Crusades and their impact on life in England. They will learn to evaluate historical interpretations of the significance of various Kings of England using their own knowledge to challenge these perceptions and create new ones. Pupils will also learn about the lives of Medieval Muslims and draw comparisons between Cordoba and London. The unit will end by examining the lives of Medieval women whilst drawing on student knowledge from previous lessons

Half Term 4 - Life in Medieval England

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit focuses on how ordinary life was for people in Medieval England and what changes took place between 1300 and 1485. Students will use an in-depth study of historical sources to emphasise the human experience of this period. They will study in depth a case study of a town before, during and after the black death and use this knowledge to evaluate two different historians' interpretations of the long-term impact and change caused by the Plague and how to some extent improved some people’s for a long period.

Half Term 5 - Why did Henry VIII change religion in England?

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit continues the story of how the relationship between religion and the monarchy developed further during the 16th century. It also looks at the religious schism and explores why people began to question what they knew and change their ideas. Pupils will use their knowledge gained of the period to assess different Historians' views as to the extent to which this was a turning point for all levels of society both locally and the whole of  England and the further impact the reformation would have on England's relationship with the rest of the world.

Half Term 6 - Elizabeth I & New Worlds

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Highlighting the religious tensions now within the UK this unit looks at original sources to evaluate Elizabeth I’s impact on English society and the changes that occurred during this period. Students are introduced to the idea of propaganda and bias and using origins of sources to evaluate their utility. They will also further develop the ability to look at an interpretation and judge it’s accuracy using knowledge. Pupils will also begin to look at the origins of Empire building and Britain becoming a global power. They will also look at the History of West Africa before Western Traders arrived in the 1600s.

Half Term 1 - Great minds and the Industrial Revolution

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

In this unit we begin by looking at an overview of the changes to politics, science and standards of living in Britain between 1603 and 1819. They will then look at the causes of the Industrial Revolution, its impact on standards of living in towns and then how society learned to deal with these changes to improve public health. An in-depth source study of the Peterloo Massacre of 1819 shows how these seismic changes in the economy and standards of living led to great social and democratic reform in 1832. 

Half Term 2 - Slavery and the British Empire

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Students will be shown how the industrial revolution and its economy were based upon slavery and how the two required the other to flourish. Pupils are then taught how this impacted indigenous people in the lands Britain colonised or traded with. Pupils will use sources to understand the human experience of empire giving agency to people who previously had none, including local people’s experience of the slave trade. Using interpretations pupils decide the extent to which the Empire impacted people positively or negatively.

Half Term 3 - World War One and Women's suffrage

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit begins with focusing on the struggle for women's suffrage before WW1 using sources and looking at local connections to the suffragette movement. Then we look at developing causation skills to explain why World War One began and the complexity of international diplomacy. Students look at life in the trenches and the Battle of the Somme through the experiences of the Headmaster of Glyn school. We then judge the performance of British generals in WW1 using interpretations.

Half Term 4 - The rise of Nazi Germany

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Students will use sources to look at the impact of the Treaty of Versailles and how the aftermath of WW1 caused Irish independence. Students will then look at how this led to the rise of the Nazis in Germany but also the rise of fascism in Britain as well. Pupils will learn about how these ideas led to the persecution of minority groups. Using sources students will focus on international relations and explain contemporary attitudes to Hitler to help them evaluate interpretations of appeasement policy. 

Half Term 5 - World War Two 

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit focuses on pupils appraising originalist interpretations of the second world war and challenging common misconceptions using sources and their own knowledge. Students link prior knowledge of appeasement policy to explain the disaster of 1940 and use sources to help explain why Britain won the Battle of Britain using sources on old boys who flew in the battle. They then look at wider events to apprise Britain's overall contribution to the war and how the wider war led to the holocaust.

Half Term 6 - Britain after 1945

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit focuses on how WW2 shaped modern Britain. A depth source study of the creation of the NHS and reasons for decolonisation and the end of the Empire. This includes a section partition and Indian Independence. Students also look at how these events led to Britain becoming a  diverse society. The students will judge, using criteria, the impact of social reforms after WW2 on children, women, ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ people. 

Half Term 1 - The Russian Revolution 

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit is designed to introduce the students to the ideology around communism which recurs throughout KS4 and KS5. It looks at providing a foundation for reasons for global tensions between communism and capitalism after 1945 which is built upon after Half term 2.  It also begins to introduce students to foreign names and the need to remember their pronunciation and spelling.

Half Term 2 - Global Communism in the 20th Century

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Building on the previous unit, students explore the spread of communism globally and develop their understanding of how and why this led to tensions with the West. This links to the Cold War unit in the GCSE and the wider school ethos of global citizenship.

Half Term 3 - Civil Rights in the USA

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit looks at what the USA was like after WW2 and then looks at the Civil Rights movement, including the role of Martin Luther King. Both this half term and next half term’s units build knowledge for future GCSE and A Level study.

Half Term 4 - Kennedy and the Cold War

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit looks at the role of the President, in particular JFK, and analyses historical interpretations of him. It focuses on his role within the Cold War, Berlin and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and then subsequently looks at his assassination.

Half Term 5 - The Vietnam War

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Building on the previous unit, this looks at the escalating war in Vietnam, why the Americans struggled to win and how they withdrew. It then goes on to look at the impact of Watergate. This unit builds knowledge for A Level.

Half Term 6 - The Reagan Presidency 

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This builds further on the previous unit, moving on to look at the impact of Watergate and the significance of the Reagan Presidency. This unit builds knowledge for A Level. This is done last as a stand-alone topic but then linked to other topics in terms of how these three units link together to form 'Big History'

Half Term 1 - Elizabethan England 1558-1588

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

We start off with the Elizabeth course as it develops the idea of Chronological History and is conceptually the easiest of the papers This follows on with Elizabeth solving her domestic issues and then moving to the wider world -  this can then be linked to religious struggle explored in Year 7

Half Term 2 - How did Elizabeth change society? 

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This is done last as a stand alone topic but then linked to other topics in terms of how the Elizabeth units link together to form 'Big History'

Half Term 3 - Migrants in Britain C800-C1700 

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This module focuses heavily on the reasons for migration to Britain over time, through case studies, and builds on the causation and change over time skills explored in Year 10.

Half Term 4 - Migrants in Britain C1700-C1900 

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This focuses on the evolution of migration to Britain but also compares and contrasts migration within the previous topic, focusing heavily on causation as a skill.

Half Term 5 - Migrants in Britain C1900-present

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This topic focuses heavily on source work and builds upon source work done at the end of Year 8.

Half Term 6 - The Weimar Republic 1919-1925

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This topic builds heavily on the topic in Year 8. Conceptually introducing the idea of communism and fascism and capitalism in more depth and breadth than KS3. It also builds on work on the Treaty of Versailles in Year 8 and sourcework around it.

Half Term 1 - How did Hitler come to power in Germany in 1933?

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Heavily source based course building on skills already introduced in the last module with London in WW2. Knowledge that forms the core basis of Year 13 Controlled Assessment.

Half Term 2 - How did the Nazis change society?

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This unit focuses on the social element of Nazi State and then compared to Weimar German Society - use of criteria to judge which society suited different groups of people better. Knowledge that forms the core basis of Year 13 controlled assessment.

Half Term 3 - The Cold War 1941-1962

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

This is taught chronologically in a story-like fashion and accompanied by exam questions that reflect this. Focuses on decades with beginning, middle and ends. Taking elements of competing ideologies already taught during the Nazi Germany course, lots of links to World War Two and Hitler from last modules and Year 8  and Year 9.

Half Term 4 - The Cold War 1962 to 1989

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Continued referral to ideas introduced at the start of course particularly during the end of the Cold War and Reagan's role within that, exploring issues touched upon in Year 9.

Due to the chronological narrative nature of the course, continuous referral and comparison between events at the start of the course are made.

Half Term 5 - Revision 

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

An opportunity for knowledge consolidation and exam practice in the lead-up to public examinations

Half Term 6 - Exams

Half Term 1

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

In half term one Year 12 students will study Units 1 and 2 of the Edexcel A Level History course. The Units chosen are “In search of the American Dream” USA 1917-1993 and “Apartheid to Rainbow Nation” South Africa 1948-1994. The USA is examined with a focus on essay writing and debate whereas the South Africa course is examined using extended writing. There is also assessment of source analysis skills as well using contextual knowledge. These are taught concurrently by different teachers. In the first half term students learn about how Politics and the Presidency have developed over the course of the 20th Century and then the context of South Africa after WW2 and the response to Apartheid policies. These units build upon work previously done in Year 9 on the USA and Year 8 with the decolonisation of the British Empire.

Half Term 2

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

In half term two students build on the foundations of half term one. The USA course focuses on a thematic history of the USA looking at four strands, in this half term we look at the struggle for Civil rights in the USA. Looking at the work of Martin Luther King and the struggle for Women's Rights, Hispanic rights and LGBTQ+ rights. Running concurrently with this, the South Africa course covers specifically the struggle for civil rights almost exclusively, therefore these two units have many similar concepts that can be compared and used to compliment the study of each.

Half Term 3

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

Following on from this the courses then deviated with the South Africa course looking at resistance and challenge to the National Party when they were in power between 1968 and 1983. To some extent this looks at economic and social challenges and this is complemented by the USA side of the course where students look at changes to USA society and then this links back to prior knowledge within the course of how these changes impacted politics and rights of minorities.

Half Term 4

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

In half term four students will study about the changing quality of life in the USA and what caused this. They will also link back to prior learning to see how these impacted society, individual rights and the presidency showing how the economic issues of the late 1960s and mid 1970s led to the election of Ronald Reagan as President. Using sources pupils will study how Apartheid ended and the creation of A “Rainbow Nation” under Nelson Mandela after his release from Robben Island Prison and how the challenges of society and economy impacted his early premiership. Linking to conceptual ideas looked at on the USA side of the course. 

Half Term 5

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

In half term five students build on source skills learned on the South Africa course to apply to sources when studying the Presidency of Ronald Reagan. This unit focuses on the causes of his election but also uses sources to appraise his presidency and challenge some of the myths that surround it. The South Africa course, having finished its content then focuses on revision and embedding knowledge to then be applied in an exam which can be applied to the USA side of the course as well.

Half Term 6

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way 

During half term six because content is completed for Units 1 and 2 we move on to look at learning contextual knowledge to be applied to the controlled assessment. The controlled assessment will be on Nazi Germany in particular focusing on the role of Hitler within the running of the Nazi state. This half term focuses on the contextual knowledge building upon knowledge learned at GCSE in much more detail. The skill focus of the controlled assessment is to use contextual knowledge and source analysis to appraise and evaluate the validity of multiple historical interpretations of Hitler’s rule. This is the culmination of all skills learned from KS3 to KS5 and is in essence the benchmark for students taking up the role of the historian as almost a foundation for undergraduate study of the subject.

Half Term 1

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

In Year 13 our students move on from studying USA and South Africa to Unit 3 and 4 concurrently.

Unit 3 focuses on the History of the British Empire between 1756 and 1914 entitled “Losing and Gaining an empire”. This first half term we focus on what 18th century Britain was like and societal and economic changes impacted British society and it’s empire focusing on the move towards free trade and the abolition of Slavery in 1833 as part of the Breadth study. Concurrently students will begin writing up their controlled assessment by selecting three interpretation of Nazi power to appraise and then defining their key arguments and how the Historians background impacts upon their interpretation of History.

Half Term 2

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

In half term two our students continue with the Breadth study of the British Empire topic. They build on prior knowledge of the mercantilist system to show how this led to the development of the Royal Navy and it's role in British society. After completing the Breadth study, the students will then study a series of depth studies that are case studies of this change over time, starting with the American War of Independence and looking at how changes in Britain resulted in defeat in America challenging common myths and misconceptions about the subject and comparisons to the Vietnam conflict studied in Year 9. Students then apply Breadth study knowledge to a depth study of the early colonisation of Australia. Students will also use source skills learned at KS3, KS4 and Year 12 to evaluate sources relating to the British Empire. Concurrently, students will also be writing controlled assessments using other knowledge and other sources to evaluate the validity of the texts they have chosen and already analysed in half term 1.

Half Term 3

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

After Christmas students begin by looking at how British society and economic policy impacted British rule of Canada in the 1830s, building on prior knowledge by comparing the British response to growing disaffection in Canada to the initial response to American hostility. They study this using source analysis and essay writing skills. At the same time in the controlled assessment students will have finished a first draft using criteria to specify which interpretation they find most compelling. After finishing Canada, students will begin to look at reasons for British involvement in India and causes of gradual Indian resentment and then insurrection against British rule, building on prior knowledge of how India can be a case study for gradual policy change over the 19th Century.

Half Term 4

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

In half term 4 students then look at the causes of the Indian Mutiny in 1857 and the subsequent reasons for why Britain was able to put down the rebellion building on essay writing skills and source analysis essays to do this. Students then look at British intervention in Egypt in 1888 and then judge how this fits into their prior knowledge of how British acquisitions of territory and their reasons for and methods of doing so change over the course of the 19th century. Concurrently students will have been handed a first draft of their controlled assessment back and will be aiming to hand in their final piece at the end of this half term.

Half Term 5

Why we sequence the scheme of work this way

With the Empire topic now finished and all content of the course completed as well as the controlled assessment now handed in, students will use the nine lessons a fortnight to revisit and revise the three main topics, spending roughly three lessons a fortnight on each. Students will be set homework to revise knowledge and events at home so that in lessons they can apply this knowledge to exam questions on which answers are modelled by their class teacher using appropriate structures that enable students to meet the assessment objectives. 

Half Term 6 - Exams