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History

Intent

A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

We aim to develop:

  • an interest in the subject
  • an awareness of cultural and historical context
  • creativity and excellence
  • a safe platform for all students to explore and develop their skills
  • know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
  • know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
  • gain and deploy a historically grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’
  • understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses
  • understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed

At Key Stage 3, History is delivered through Humanities. Pupils should extend and deepen their chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, so that it provides a well-informed context for wider learning. Pupils should identify significant events, make connections, draw contrasts and analyse trends within periods and over long arcs of time. They should use historical terms and concepts in increasingly sophisticated ways.

They should pursue historically valid enquiries including some they have framed themselves and create relevant, structured and evidentially supported accounts in response. They should understand how different types of historical sources are used rigorously to make historical claims and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed. In planning to ensure the progression described above through teaching the British, local and world history.

Implementation

Subject specialists have given consideration and thought to the sequence and rationale of the curriculum; why we teach the content we do and in the order that we do. This is to ensure knowledge is not isolated information; it is connected knowledge that enables comprehension. The curriculum is a progressive model. Subject and cross subject sequencing intends to develop schemata making subsequent learning possible.

At Key Stage 3, the full National Curriculum is delivered. The History curriculum is organised into units and each unit of lessons builds on prior knowledge allowing connections to be made and enables knowledge to be transferable. In History we believe this facilitates deeper comprehension. The unit content taught is chosen so lessons focus on developing deeper understanding and capacity for skilful performance.

At Key Stage 4, the full Edexcel GCSE specification is delivered. Content is structured into unit. The curriculum is designed to ensure students have a broad and diverse study of the history of Britain and the wider world and give them skills that will support progression to further study of history and a wide range of other subjects. Each lesson builds on prior learning, allowing connections to be made between content. Units have been organised and designed to promote learning and provide depth and breadth of understanding.

Impact

History will help students understand how the world we live in was shaped and make you consider today’s society in a different way. The history curriculum will empower students to question, investigate and explore the complex world that they are a part of. The curriculum emphasises the need for a grounded understanding of abstract terms such as ‘empire’, ‘civilisation’, ‘parliament’ and ‘peasantry’; subject specific language that will have been taught explicitly. It also allows for an understanding of historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses.

Students will be able to speak with confidence about the significant events from the past and explain how they have impacted our society today as a result of the transference of their knowledge to their long-term memory. Students will be able to use what they have read to explain what they are also learning within their curriculum. Students will be able to interrogate historical information and sources and be able to explain this verbally and through written responses. All students will be able to reach their own conclusions about the historical events from the past and justify their reasoning behind this.

Examination

Paper 1: Thematic study and historic environment
Exam length 1hr 15mins, 30% of the qualification
Crime and Punishment in Britain c. 1000-present and Whitechapel, c.1870-c.1900: crime, policing and the inner city

  • Students will learn how key features in the development of crime and punishment were linked with the key features of society in Britain in the periods studied.
  • Students will develop an understanding of the nature and process of change including trends, patterns, turning points and influences, for example the development of technology and cybercrime.
  • Students will use a variety of sources to make links between the environment and crime:
    • 1. the significance of Whitechapel as an inner-city area of poverty, discontent, and crime
    • 2. the growth of socialism and anarchism
    • 3. the organising of policing
    • 4. investigative policing, for example dealing with crimes of Jack the Ripper
    • 5. working of the Metropolitan Police and development of the CID

Paper 2: Period study and British depth study
Exam length 1hr 45mins, 40% of the qualification
Henry VIII and his ministers

Students will study three topics that assess their knowledge and understanding on the following topics:

  • 1. Henry VIII and Wolsey, 1509-29
  • 2. Henry VIII and Cromwell, 1529-40
  • 3. The Reformation and its impact, 1529-40

Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-1991

Students will study three topics that assess their knowledge and understanding on the following topics:

  • 1. The origins of the Cold War, 1941-58
  • 2. Cold War crises, 1958-70
  • 3. The end of the Cold War, 1970-91

Paper 3: Modern Depth Study
Exam length 1hr 20mins, 30% of the qualification
Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939

Students will study four topics based on sources and interpretations:

  • 1. The Weimar Republic, 1918-29
  • 2. Hitler’s rise to power, 1919-33
  • 3. Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933-39
  • 4. Life in Nazi Germany, 1933-39

How are students supported in History?

Students at MEPA Academy are supported through a range of reasonable adjustments personalised to the student. The reasonable adjustments include but are not exhaustive to: providing templates for graph, tables, grids to students, use of Pencil grips/Easy Writer pens and pencils, scribing for students, providing extra time, use of writing slope, effective and appropriate seating, directed questions, use of Rest/calm/movement breaks. Teachers use a range of reasonable adjustments for each student to maximise their opportunities to learn.

Extra Curricular and Enrichment

To Watch

To Listen

To Research

  • Your own family history. For example, did you have a relative who fought in World War One or Two? Research their names on the Commonwealth War Graves site

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Awareness and Learning

Life in medieval Britain, the reformation, the slave trade, World War I, World War II, international relations, Elizabethan England; Germany 1871-1991, Britain 1951- 2007, Slavery and emancipation.

Careers Related Learning

Many of our students go on to study History and related subjects at university as History is regarded as a difficult and well respected subject which requires a degree of intellectual ability. However our former students also enter other fields including Banking, the Civil Service, journalism, the Law, politics, education and the arts.

Career Ideas: academic research, archivist, heritage management, historic buildings work, conservation, museum/gallery work, teaching/lecturing, archaeology, academic librarian, journalism, law, civil service, publishing & editing, human resources, information officer, marketing, politics and much more.

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