History
Welcome to the Kingsmead School History Department.
Our intent is for students to have an awareness and understanding of our past, which in turn allows them to understand our present. Providing students with an insight into our cultures of origin as well as cultures with which they might be less familiar, thereby increasing cross-cultural awareness and understanding of the world around them.
Our post 1066 History curriculum is based on National Curriculum guidelines, with a mix of local, national and international events/individuals, with some compulsory elements, such as the teaching of the Holocaust.
The chosen KS3 syllabus enables pupils to practice x7 key History skills based on Historical interpretations, Significance, Change and continuity, Historical perspectives, Causation, Historical evidence and Enquiry.
The x7 key History skills, and the lessons and assessments in which they are applied, are linked to the skills pupils require for the AQA GCSE curriculum in Year 9-11.
Some topics at KS3 have been chosen as an introduction and link to the chosen KS4 syllabus. For example, religious changes in the time of the Tudors and the reign of Elizabeth 1st, both studied in Year 7, complement the depth study of Elizabeth in Year 11.
A comprehensive period of revision is built into the GCSE course in Year 11 to revisit topics studied in Year 9 and 10.
Curriculum Summary
At Key Stage 3 (Years 7 & 8), students investigate a wide range of themed historical topics, covering the years 1066 to 1945. All activities and assessments are designed to engage and inspire, whilst at the same time laying key foundations for progression on to Key Stage 4. Students have 3 hours of History lessons per fortnight and are taught in tutor groups.
At Key Stage 4 (Years 9, 10 & 11), students currently work towards the AQA GCSE History qualification. This is a varied and challenging specification, which allows students to learn about topics such as; Britain: Health and the People, c1000 to present day; Germany: Democracy to Dictatorship, 1890-1945; Elizabethan England, 1568-1603; Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945-1972. Each topic is worth 25% of their final GCSE grade and it is examined with two final papers at the end of Year 11.
Trips and Visits
Currently we run, in conjunction with the RE department, a joint KS4 trip to Krakow for Year 10 and Year 11 pupils. This trip particularly complements student’s studies of the Nazi dictatorship, with visits to Auschwitz, the site of the Jewish ghetto in Krakow and a talk from a Holocaust survivor.
As part of the Year 11 GCSE revision programme, we also take students on a theatre trip to watch a GCSE revision production and complete a revision workshop.
Sequence of Learning in History
This is a summary of the topics studied in History at Kingsmead School.
|
Key Stage 3 Sequence of Learning |
Year 7 |
Year 8 |
|---|---|---|
|
Term 1 (Sept-Oct) |
History Skills
|
Industrial Revolution
|
|
Term 2 (Nov-Dec) |
The Norman Conquest
|
The Slave Trade
|
|
Term 3 (Jan-Feb) |
The Medieval Church
|
The British Empire
|
|
Term 4 (Feb-Mar) |
Medieval Life
|
Sinking of the Titanic
|
|
Term 5 (Apr-May) |
Tudor Religion
|
The First World War
|
|
Term 6 (June-July) |
The English Civil War
|
The causes and events of World War Two
|
Sequence of Learning in History
This is a summary of the topics studied in History at Kingsmead School.
|
Key Stage 4 Sequence of Learning |
Year 9 |
Year 10 |
Year 11 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Term 1 (Sept-Oct) |
Britain: health and the people. Medicine stands still
|
Germany 1890-1945 Life under Nazi rule
|
Elizabethan England 1568-1603. Troubles home and abroad
|
|
Term 2 (Nov-Dec) |
Britain: health and the people. Beginnings of change
|
Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945-1972. Origins of the Cold War
|
Revision. Elizabethan England
|
|
Term 3 (Jan-Feb) |
Britain: health and the people. Revolution in Medicine
|
Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945-1972. Development of the Cold War
|
Revision.
Britain: health and the people
|
|
Term 4 (Feb-Mar) |
Britain: health and the people. Modern medicine
|
Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945-1972. Transformation of the Cold War
|
Revision
Germany 1890-1945
|
|
Term 5 (Apr-May) |
Germany 1890-1945 Failure of democracy
|
Elizabethan England 1568-1603. Elizabeth’s court and Parliament
|
Revision
Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945-1972
|
|
Term 6 (June-July) |
Germany 1890-1945 Depression and dictatorship
|
Elizabethan England 1568-1603. Life in Elizabethan times
|
Exam Leave
|
Top 5 Websites
For additional learning and revision in this subject, see these websites:
- BBC Bitesize GCSE History (AQA), for GCSE revision.https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/examspecs/zxjk4j6
- Seneca Learning. Login details for GCSE students available from History class teacher.https://www.senecalearning.com/
- BBC Teach. Videos and clips for KS3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ks3-history/zhbdpg8
- BBC Teach. Videos and clips for KS4. Especially useless for Year 11 revision on the Medicine Unit – Britain: Health and the People. https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/gcse-national-5-history/zb2skmn
- Timelines TV. Videos and clips for KS3 and KS4. http://timelines.tv/
History Progress Overviews
These are designed to outline the progression of History based learning within each year group. They make clear the skills, understanding and knowledge within each category of our language for learning.