The aim of key stage 3 History course is to prepare students with the historical skills and knowledge to prepare them for the rest of their History studies and also to inform them as to whether they may decide to choose history at GCSE.

In Year 7 we have 3 lessons a fortnight and we start off by focusing on History skills, for example, being able to use evidence and understand its importance in the study of History. We also help students to develop the written skills required to write detailed historical answers and explanations backed up by relevant examples.

We concentrate on British History in Year 7, starting off with the Norman invasion of England and we then look at the development of the church, state and society throughout the medieval period and into the Tudor times.  We also study the English Civil War and a study of Elizabethan society.  Throughout these units we study key historical skills such as understanding causes and how they often link and work in combination, importance, historical interpretations and consequences.

In Year 8 we start by doing a study on the British Empire and look at aspects such as the slave trade.  We then study the Modern World and look at the causes of the First World War, a case study of life in the trenches, failures of the Treaty of Versailles, the causes of World War II and its key turning points and a depth study on the Holocaust.

We study the Edexcel syllabus and the following units:

1. Medicine in Britain, c1250 – present, including a case study of the British sectors of the Western Front, 1914 -18: injuries, treatment and the trenches.
2. Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, 1060-88.
3. The American West, c1835-c1895.
4. Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918 – 39.

The GCSE course consists of 3 exam papers which are all sat at the end of the GCSE course.  As part of the GCSE course, we ensure we prepare the students with all the necessary skills required for answering GCSE style questions and the ability to answer source (evidence) based questions.

Link to the exam board: http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/history-2016.html

We follow the AQA exam board specification.  Students will make the choice in Year 12, with advice from their class teacher as to the best option in terms of AS or A level.  The Department provides all students with a textbook and access to relevant reading material, as we subscribe to an online historical magazine and also we are members of the Historical Association. 

The topics we cover are as follows:

1. The quest for political stability: Germany 1871-1991.
2. The Wars of the Roses, 1450 -1499.
3. A non-examined assessment on the Golden Age of Spain.

The first two units are studied at both AS and A level and are externally examined (at the end of Year 12 for the AS exam and the end of Year 13 for the A level).

The NEA or non examined unit is a personal study carried out by the students, where they have to design their own question, then carry out their own historical research and finally answer the question they have set.  This will be marked by the History Department and then moderated by the exam board.  The NEA only applies to A level students and is not completed by AS students.

Link to the exam board: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/history/as-and-a-level/history-7041-7042

It is likely that you will have two teachers (one for each of the exam units) and a teacher who will advise you on the NEA and give you advice and guidance throughout the process.