History is studied by all students in year 9 and is offered as an optional subject at both GCSE and A’ Level. Our results at GCSE are good with 60% of students gaining grade A*-C in 2006. Our results at A Level are outstanding with 50% of students gaining grade A or B at A2 in each of the last 2 years. In 2006 six of the sixteen history A2 students went on to study history at university level including one at Cambridge.
WW1 trenches at Sanctuary Wood
Our students learn to interpret a wide variety of historical material including documents, photographs and film. They study the period from 1750 to the present day including fieldwork at Beamish open air museum and the opportunity to take part in an extended study tour to the WW1 battlefields of France and Belgium at GCSE level. At A level students can broaden their studies with topics from both the Tudor/Stuart period and the 20th Century and the opportunity to do an independent study on a historical period of their own choice.
Our aims are:
To develop students’ knowledge and understanding of selected periods and aspects of history.
To foster an understanding of how the past has helped to shape our present society and therefore how our actions may impact on future generations.
To enable students to explore the significance of historical events and changes.
To encourage students to use historical sources critically and develop understanding of how the past has been represented and interpreted.
GCSE History – Modern World History
AS History – Revolutions – Russia in 20th Century and England in the 17th Century
A2 History – depth studies – Elizabeth I and Civil Rights in the USA
