Head of History: James Fairclough (j.fairclough@swr.gloucs.sch.uk)
Our intent:
Provide a curriculum for learners of all abilities and backgrounds that will provoke curiosity, wonder, and interest in the history of the country, but also of different parts of the world. The curriculum features a breadth of history to enable students to see a clear sense of chronological progression, while having enough depth to enable debate, interpretation and decision making. Important historical and literacy skills will be embedded throughout the curriculum to prepare students for KS4 and KS5, but also in preparation of other subjects and future careers.
Extra-Curricular
History has previously offered several trips to enable students to develop their love and passion for the subject. We have routinely offered a Battlefields Trip to students in the Summer of Year 9, with extensive tours of both the Somme and Ypres battlefields – alongside swimming and a tour around Bruges. We also offer a site study to Key Stage 4 units to Goodrich Castle as part of their History Around Us tour. We want to increase our extra-curricular activities for students going forward, to develop their understanding of their local and national history.
The Big Picture
KS3
Our Key Stage 3 provision is 3 hours per fortnight. Students will study most units in a chronological order to help them develop a sense of historical period and better understand the history of both Britain, and the world. In Year 7 students focus mainly on the Medieval Period after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 until 1500, whilst Year 8 students investigate the rich history of the Early Modern and Industrial periods from 1500-1900. Year 9 pupils study the shifting political and social landscape of the 20th century, with a focus on the World Wars, fight for human rights and the horrors of the Holocaust.
| Unit | Y7 |
| 1 | Thematic Study: Invaders to Britain |
| 2 | How did the Battle of Hastings change Britain? |
| 3 | The Power of the Church, Monarchy and People in Medieval Britain |
| 4 | How did people live in Medieval Baghdad and Feudal Japan? |
| 5 | Discovery and the New World |
| 6 |
| Unit | Y8 |
| 1 | The Tudors |
| 2 | The Stuarts |
| 3 | The British Empire |
| 4 | The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade |
| 5 | The Industrial Revolution |
| 6 | The French Revolution |
| Unit | Y9 |
| 1 | The First World War |
| 2 | The Fight for Rights |
| 3 | The Second World War |
| 4 | The Holocaust |
| 5 | Afghanistan and 9/11 |
| 6 |
KS4
Our Key Stage 4 provision is 5 hours per fortnight. We study the OCR B: Schools History Project GCSE specification. We have chosen this as allows our students to study a wide range of different periods, peoples and countries whilst also developing key historical concepts and skills.
The course is 100% examined at the end of Year 11. The course features five units, split across three exams. The split is as follows:
British History (People’s Health and Elizabethans): 1 hour 45-minute exam
History Around Us: 1 hour exam
World History (Making of America and Living under Nazi Rule): 1 hour 45-minute exam
| Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | |
| Year 10 | People’s Health 1250- | Living under Nazi Rule 1933-1945 | The Elizabethans 1580-1603 |
| Year 11 | History Around Us (Goodrich Castle) | The Making of America (1789-1900) |
The History GCSE provides a great foundation for the following Key Stage 5 qualifications and areas of future study:
History, Law, Economics, English, Politics, Business, Archaeology, Classics, Philosophy, Sociology, RE.