History

Head of Subject: Mrs Amanda Moore

History curriculum intent

Our intent is to ignite a lifelong interest in the past, across time and place. We want students to understand how history has shaped the world around us, and can offer explanations to current affairs. In history, we cover a range of skills that will prepare them for the future, such as evaluating sources of information and forming a judgement. Our curriculum intends to allow all students to be able to see themselves in history in a positive light. We cover topics in depth and breadth to allow students to study a specific event in detail, but also acquire a breadth of knowledge that allows them to assess change and continuity over a large period of time. Throughout their time at Redruth School, they will study local history across different time periods to see the role that Redruth and Cornwall has played in history. We also offer many opportunities to support our curriculum with building their 'cultural capital'; for example, we run a range of trips to London, Germany, Austria and local trips too.

Histroy Extracurricular Offer

History Curriculum Intent

What does the Key Stage 3 curriculum look like?

In Key Stage 3, students will study three different units each year to get a rich understanding of key concepts in History, which can mean different things in different contexts, or change over time. They start with looking at 'monarchy' in Year 7, a study which takes us back to the first king of England, Athelstan, all the way up to the present day monarch. Students are given the opportunity to look at the reign of a number of monarchs and notice how their role as a monarch, and what it means to be a monarch changes over time. We then look at the same time period, but focus on 'power and authority'. This involves looking at a range of challenges to Medieval monarchs, such as the Magna Carta, and then looks at the evolving role of Parliament. We end Year 7 by looking at Empire, and by using our understanding of monarchs, and their power and authority, we can understand why the British Empire started and how this affected the wider world. 

In Year 8, as we are in the process of moving to a new Scheme of Learning, they have also started this year on the concept of 'Empire' but this has been a much more in depth study of the impact on different colonies, and how the British Empire came to end, but what legacy did it leave behind. Students in Year 8 then move on to our 'fights for rights' unit which looks in depth at the reasons behind the transatlantic slave trade, and reasons for abolition and eventually Emancipation. We then focus on the legacy this has left behind in both Britain and the wider world, and what fights for rights have continued since. We end the year with our unit on 'warfare' and we ask the question, what can we learn from WW1 and WW2?

Year 9 is focused on modern history, using all of our previous learning to understand to world in the modern era. We start with a unit on 'Democracy and Dictatorship' which gives the students the opportunity to look at different dictatorships, followed by a case study on Hitler's rise to power and life in Nazi Germany. Students then use this learning to understanding how the Holocaust was able to happen in our next unit on 'persecutions'. We also study other genocides before and since the Holocaust, and look at the destruction of the Native American way of life as a different example of a genocide. We finish Key Stage Three with a focus case study on multi-cultural Britain. We answer the question, why is the Notting Hill Carnival so important?

 

What does the Key Stage 4 curriculum look like?

For GCSE History, we teach the Pearson Edexcel GCSE course. The units include:

• Paper 1 – Thematic study and historic environment – Crime and Punishment in Britain c1000-present plus Whitechapel, c1870-c1900: crime, policing and the inner city
• Paper 2 – Period Study (The American West, c1835–c1895) plus British Depth Study (Elizabethan England, 1558-1588)
• Paper 3 – Modern Depth Study – Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-39

The skills that are examined are:

• subject knowledge of topics
• explaining a range of reasons why events happened
• explaining why certain events should be regarded as important
• analysing the usefulness of sources; evaluating (weighing up) how much we agree with the interpretations (views) of different historians.

How can you support History learning at home?

You could search out topical films, documentaries and articles to encourage your child’s knowledge and enthusiasm for the topics they will study. The department provides students with examples of what these may be. If you would like one emailing home please contact Mrs Moore.

Specific revision guides are available to purchase on ParentPay and cost £3.00. It makes good sense to begin using these from the beginning of the GCSE studies to enhance and reflect on class work.