History

Year 8 History

Subject intent 

In Year 7, you learnt about the Medieval period, focusing on chronology, power, and belief systems in the Middle Ages. You explored how William the Conqueror secured control, the immense power of the medieval Church (including the events leading up to the murder of Thomas Becket), and the clash of cultures during the Crusades. The Spring term concluded with a look at Medieval monarchs like King John and the Magna Carta, followed by the social impact of The Black Death and the history of Migration to Britain in the Summer term.

During Year 8, you will focus on the transition from early modern religious upheavals to industrialization and the fight for democracy. You will learn how Henry VIII’s break with Rome radically altered English religion and power and then understand the struggle for authority that led England to erupt into the Civil War. During the Spring term, you will examine the transatlantic slave trade, the horrific human cost of the middle passage, and the fight for abolition. This naturally leads to an exploration of how Britain expanded to control a global empire. Lastly, you will study a brief introduction to the Enlightenment as a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution, concluding your year with a focused study on the campaign for women's suffrage and the Suffragettes.

Topic Breakdown

You will be assessed: At the end of each half-term's unit of work. Regular summative assessments are explicitly designed to align with the skills and knowledge required for KS3, while preparing you for the structure of the Edexcel GCSE (9-1) exams. You will be tested on various core historical skills to ensure you are "GCSE Ready", including: 

• Causation: Explaining the reasons behind events, such as why Henry VIII broke from Rome, or why the Industrial Revolution began in Britain. 
• Significance: Assessing the importance of historical changes, such as the impact of Mary I's religious policies or evaluating the benefits of the British Empire. 
• Source Analysis & Utility (Evidence): Judging how useful sources are for specific enquiries, such as examining conditions on the Middle Passage or Oliver Cromwell's actions during the Civil War. 
• Change and Continuity: Evaluating long-term impacts, such as how far life changed for working-class people between 1750 and 1900. 
• Interpretations: Explaining why historians have different views, such as differing perspectives on the effectiveness of the suffragettes' methods. 

Year 9 History

Subject intent 

In Year 8, you learnt about the transition from early modern religious upheavals to industrialization and the fight for democracy. You learned how Henry VIII’s break with Rome radically altered English religion and power and then understood the struggle for authority that led England to erupt into the Civil War. In the spring term, you examined the transatlantic slave trade, the horrific human cost of the middle passage, and the fight for abolition, which led to an exploration of the British Empire and colonization. Lastly, you studied a brief introduction to the Enlightenment as a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution, concluding your year with a focused study on the campaign for women's suffrage and the Suffragettes. 

During Year 9, you will focus on modern global conflicts, human rights crises, and embarking on the GCSE course. You will establish a powerful modern history pathway starting with the causes, trench warfare reality, and global geopolitical consequences of the First World War. This flows naturally into an expanded, two-term study of World War II & 20th Century Conflict. Here, you will investigate the rise of totalitarian ideologies, European campaigns, and civilian impacts, before deepening your study into postwar tensions and the emerging Cold War landscape. 

In the second half of the spring term, you will complete a unit on the Holocaust, studying the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and genocide of Jewish people and other minorities. Moving into the summer term, you will explore the roots of modern regional tensions and global diplomatic dynamics in the Middle East. Finally, to give you a head start on exam techniques and optimize your preparation time for final exams, you will formally begin your GCSE History course in Summer Term 2, focusing on Unit 1: Early Elizabethan England (1558–88). 

Topic Breakdown

You will be assessed: At the end of each half-term's unit of work. All end-of-unit assessments are designed with a structured Success Criteria and Key Words focus to ensure you reach a "GCSE Ready" standard by the end of Year 9. You will be tested on various core historical skills based on the Edexcel GCSE assessment objectives, including: 

• Causation (AO1/AO2): Moving beyond simple descriptions to analytical explanations, such as explaining why the First World War broke out in 1914 or why the USA used atomic bombs in 1945. 
• Analytical Narrative: Writing detailed accounts, such as analysing the key events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. 
• Significance: Evaluating the importance of events, such as judging if the invasion of the USSR was Hitler’s biggest mistake. 
• Source Evidence & Utility (AO3): Identifying a source's purpose and usefulness, such as evaluating sources for an enquiry into Jewish persecution. 
• Interpretations (AO4): Distinguishing between historical facts and varying historical interpretations, such as suggesting reasons why historians give different views about the Holocaust. 

Year 10 History

Subject intent 

In Year 9, you focused on modern global conflicts, human rights crises, and embarking on the GCSE course. You established a powerful modern history pathway starting with the causes, trench warfare reality, and global geopolitical consequences of the First World War. This flowed naturally into an expanded, two-term study of World War II & 20th Century Conflict, investigating the rise of totalitarian ideologies and the emerging Cold War landscape. After completing a unit on the Holocaust and exploring tensions in the Middle East, you formally began your GCSE History course in the summer term, getting a head start on Unit 1: Early Elizabethan England (1558–88). 
 

During Year 10, you will continue and build upon your Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History course. In the Autumn term, you will conclude your study of Early Elizabethan England (1558–88). This topic focuses on knowledge, understanding, causation, and second-order concepts such as change, continuity, and consequence. You will then move on to Superpower Relations and the Cold War (1941–91), where you will develop skills in historical narrative, analysing events to find connections that explain how the Cold War unfolded. During the Summer term, you will begin studying Weimar and Nazi Germany (1918–39). This unit builds vital skills in source analysis, evaluating contemporary evidence, and understanding historical interpretations. 

Topic Breakdown

You will be assessed: Regularly using past Edexcel GCSE (9-1) papers, including structured homework assessments and formal examinations at the end of each topic studied. 

Year 11 History

Subject intent 

In Year 10, you continued and built upon your Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History course. You concluded your study of Early Elizabethan England (1558–88), focusing on knowledge, causation, and second-order concepts such as change, continuity, and consequence. You then moved on to Superpower Relations and the Cold War (1941–91), developing skills in historical narrative and analysing events to find connections that explain how the Cold War unfolded. During the Summer term, you began studying Weimar and Nazi Germany (1918–39), building vital skills in source analysis, evaluating contemporary evidence, and understanding historical interpretations.
 

During Year 11, you will focus on the continuation and completion of the Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History course. You will start the year by concluding your study of Weimar and Nazi Germany (1918–39). You will then begin a thematic study of Crime and Punishment in Britain, c.1000–present. In this unit, you will learn how to analyse long-term change and continuity, evaluate trends and turning points, and assess the impact of key factors such as societal attitudes, the Church, government, and science and technology over time. The last section of the course is a specialized historical environment study linked to the Crime and Punishment topic: Whitechapel, c.1870–c.1900 (Crime, policing, and the inner city). This unit will help you develop deep historical context, investigate the relationships between a specific place and historical developments, and critically evaluate contemporary sources to make substantiated judgements.

Topic Breakdown 

You will be assessed: Regularly using past Edexcel GCSE (9-1) papers and formal examinations at the end of each topic studied.

Within each subject we have our own specific personalised marking and feeback policy.