History
Welcome to the History department at St Gregory’s.
We are a well-resourced department with five specialist History teachers.
History is presented as both challenging and relevant to all pupils. The curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to develop independent and collaborative learning skills through a range of enquiry projects.
Students are encouraged to make links with current events, think for themselves and share their views with others. History classes provide for cultural enrichment and foster discussion on important spiritual and moral issues within a Catholic context. History classrooms are lively places where pupils enjoy learning about the past.
Pupils are well supported in their learning at all key stages. This is why history is a popular choice at both GCSE and A Level. After school revision sessions are offered to all public examination students.
key stage 3 overview
year 7
Autumn Term:
We start off the autumn learning about key historical skills and key words that pave the way for their History education.
Topic 1: Who were the first English?
We study migration to England pre-1066 including the Celts, Romans, Vikings
Topic 2: How did the Normans conquer England?
We study how the Norman conquest and how they established their control in England
Spring Term
Topic 3: How important was religion in the Medieval World?
We study medieval religion in both the Western and Islamic world including a study on the Crusades
Topic 4: How did Medieval Society change for peasants by 1400?
We study how life changed for peasants through the Black Death and Peasants revolt.
Summer Term
Topic 5: How powerful were Medieval Monarchs?
We study medieval monarchs such as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, King John and the Magna Carta and Edward I’s conquest of Wales and Scotland.
Topic 6: How did ideas about religion, society and the monarchy change under the Tudors?
We study how the Tudors impacted religion through the English reformation, society and the power of the monarchy. This topic is taught alongside an independent Tudor project.
year 8
Autumn Term:
Topic 1: English Civil War
We study why there was a plot to kill the king and why Englishmen fought Englishmen in 1642.
Topic 2: African Kingdoms and the Transatlantic slave trade
We study the success of African Kingdoms and how this changed with European influence to assess the transatlantic slave trade over time.
Spring Term
Topic 3: How did experiences in the British Empire vary?
We study the impact of the British Empire in countries such as America, Ireland, India, Australia and countries in Africa.
Topic 4: How did Britain change during the Industrial Revolution?
We study how Britain changed from an agricultural to an industrial society and the impact this had on cities.
Summer Term
Topic 5: World War One
We study the main causes of World War One and the main battles that took place.
Topic 6: Women’s Suffrage Movement
We study how women in the 20th century fought for their right to vote.
year 9
Autumn Term:
Topic 1: Causes of World War One
We study the main causes of World War One
Topic 2: World War One at home and abroad
We study the main battles that took place and the impact of war in Britain.
Spring Term
Topic 3: Inter-war years and the Rise of Hitler
We study the differences between democracy and dictatorship, the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany and how Hitler came to power.
Topic 4: The Holocaust
We study the horrors of how Jewish people living in Nazi Germany were persecuted.
Summer Term
Topic 5: World War Two
We study the main causes of World War Two and the main battles that took place.
Topic 6: GCSE Crime and Punishment 1000-1700 Topic 1 and 2
We start the GCSE course studying how crime, law enforcement and punishment changed over time.
key stage 4 overview
Students follow the Edexcel GCSE Course: History (9-1)
If you have a great interest of current affairs and interested in WHY we certain laws today, then History is for you. If you like to debate, prove your point and love learning about the cause and consequences of some interesting people then History is for you.
Units Studied:
Paper 1: Introduction and overview to Crime and punishment in Britain, c1000–present.
Paper 2 A: Period Study: Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941–91.
Paper 2 B: Depth Study Anglo Saxon and Norman England 1060-1088.
Paper 3: The USA, 1954–75: conflict at home and abroad.
year 10
In year 10 we continue to look at the Crime and Punishment module and Anglo Saxons.
Paper 1: Introduction and overview to Crime and punishment in Britain, c1000–present.
How and why have the nature and definitions of criminal activity and the nature of law enforcement and punishment changed over time?
This paper is an overview of key features in the development of crime and punishment and how these were linked with the key features of society in Britain in the periods studied. From Medieval England to Jack the Ripper to the abolishment of capital punishment in Britain in the 1960s!
Paper 2: Depth Study Anglo Saxon and Norman England 1060-1088.
This Depth study looks at how England was changed and adapted to fit the rule of foreign king, William the conqueror. Students will study the very foundations of Anglo Saxon England and the changes that took place during the last ever successful invasion of England.
year 11
Paper 2: Period Study: Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941–91.
This Period Study looks at one of the biggest ideological warfare of the 20th Century, the Cold War, and beginning from early years of World War Two into the early 1990s.
Paper 3: The USA, 1954–75: conflict at home and abroad.
This paper studies America during one of its most turbulent times in their History. Discovering the roles of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and the studying the roles of their beloved presidents.
How are the GCSE units assessed?
There are three separate papers, which will be assessed in exam format.
Paper 1 British Study 30%: 1hr 15 minutes
Paper 2 Depth Study & Paper 2 Period Study 40%: 1hr 45 minutes
Paper 3 Modern Depth Study 30% 1hr 20 Minutes.
key stage 5 overview
A level History is now a two year course with one grade given at the end of year 13. What is important is that students have a desire to learn inside and outside the classroom. Students that are willing to develop their own personal learning and communicate that effectively within the classroom.
Course Aims:
The course has been formed to develop students’ critical thinking skills and encourage evaluation of historical events, sources and people.
The structure of this course enables students to make and understand links between: social, cultural and political change through evaluation of events, theories and individuals.
This course challenges students to be able to understand the nature of historical evidence and the methods used in analysing, evaluating sources and making judgements.
Why study History at A-Level?
History is a subject that has a mass of transferrable skills which are valued in many careers such as: banking, accountancy, law, journalism, government and politics, teaching, social services and many more.
year 12
Students follow the Edexcel A-Level History course.
Paper 1: Breadth Study with Interpretations (1F) In search of the American Dream, 1917-1996.
This unit comprises a study in breadth, in which students will learn about the dramatic political, economic and social transformation of the USA in the 20th century, an era that saw the USA challenged by the consequences of political, economic and social inequalities at home and of its involvement in international conflict.
Paper 2: Depth Study (2F.1) India, c1914–48: the road to independence
This option comprises a study in depth of the transition of the Indian sub-continent from a colony to independence. The gaining of Indian independence influenced both the nature of civil rights campaigning and the search for national self-determination throughout the world.
year 13
Paper 3, Option 35.1: Britain: Losing and gaining an empire 1716-1914
This option comprises two parts: The aspects in breadth focus on long-term changes and contextualise the aspects in depth, which focus in detail on key episodes. Together, the breadth and depth topics explore the development of the British Empire and the part played in this by the Royal Navy and merchant marine. Looking at social, economic and political issues, students will study a series of developments that started with an imperial catastrophe which threatened to reduce Britain once more to a European offshore island, but would then transform Britain's standing in the world so that by the end of the period it had the largest empire the world has known.
Coursework Unit 4: Nazi Germany
The purpose of this coursework is to enable students to develop skills in the analysis and evaluation of interpretations of one the most controversial dictatorships, Nazi Germany, in an independently researched assignment. Students are assessed on their analysis and evaluation of the interpretations by Historians surrounding this topic.
How will I be assessed?
Paper 1 exam 30%: 2hr 15 minutes
Paper 2 20%: 1hr30 minutes
Paper 3 30%: 2hr15 minutes
Coursework (Unit 4): written assessment - 20%