Intent

History allows pupils to fire their CURIOSITY and IMAGINATION by exploring different time periods in order to understand how life came about today. History also allows students continue to be INTRIGUED by the dilemmas, choices and beliefs of people in the past. History gives us COURAGE; our challenges are not always exceptional (not when compared with some challenges in the past) and History gives us APPRECIATION; for some of the advantages we enjoy in our modern times.

At BHA we offer a comprehensive programme of history at a local, national and international level.

Students are given the opportunity to:

• Undertake investigations and develop enquiry skills,
• Think like an historian; exploring a range of sources,
• Acquire a thorough understanding of historical methods through a stimulating approach to the subject.

We teach our curriculum through the key historical skills which will be developed over three years that the students are here at BHA: Chronology, Cause and Consequence, Change and continuity, Interpretation, Significance and Using Evidence.  The thematic topics (taking one theme and studying that over time/different time periods) not only helps to develop a sense of chronology but also prepares the students to study a thematic topic at GCSE level.

An example is shown below.

Implementation

Our curriculum (shown in the table below) for years 6, 7 and 8, covers the national curriculum which aims to ensure all pupils:

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; characteristics 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 methods of 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.

Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short and long-term timescales.

We teach each topic through a specific enquiry (shown below) which is then assessed after knowledge is accumulated lesson by lesson so that students have covered the requirements of the national curriculum.

Year 6

Year 7

Year 8

Teacher assessment:

Teacher assessment will take place throughout each year and regular assessment tasks will be set and marked using curriculum related expectations. A teacher-assessed grade for each pupil will be included on final reports to parents.

Extra-curricular:

History club is open to all students on a Tuesday lunchtime. A variety of topics will be studied which will differ from those studied in class. It will involve bringing history to life through experiencing the job of a historian through project work or through drama and role-play and researching and making their own exhibitions.

Impact

It is our aim to;

Provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and achieve.

Promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development and prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.

Provide literacy and numeracy support and development for pupils.

KS2

In Year 6 will have an introduction to subject where all students will begin to be aware of what history is – what is learnt in the subject, why we study the subject and how the subject is studied.  Students will also be introduced to the key skills that are used in the study of history. Next, students will study the Ancient Greeks (an ancient civilisation) in particular how they lived, their achievements and the legacy to the wider world. Lastly, students will recap on the work they have done in KS1 and KS2 to secure their learning before moving onto KS3. This topic will allow students to use any prior knowledge and consolidate what they have already learned about the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, the plague, the Great Fire of London, Queen Victoria, World war One and World War Two. The focus to be on how everyday living changed from one time period to the next.

KS3

Year 7

In Year 7 students will follow history chronologically from the Normans (Middle Ages) to the Tudors (Early Modern Britain).  Students will experience religious, social, economic, military and cultural history. Firstly, they will learn about the Battle of Hastings and why 1066 was such a turning point in our history. They will examine the impact the Normans had on England by studying such subjects as rebellion, feudalism and the Domesday Book.  Next students will look at the challenges that some medieval monarchs had to face and the beginnings of parliament.  Students will also develop their skills of evaluating source material and making judgements about how harsh life was for medieval peasants.  They will also have the opportunity to do some independent learning in depth, consider things that have changed and stayed the same over time and causes and consequences. Lastly, they will directly compare the achievements of each Tudor monarch in order to assess which monarch was the most historically significant.

Year 8

Year 8 students will begin by studying the second thematic topic, which is crime and punishment through time. This topic includes the Gunpowder Plot, witchcraft, the Civil War and the introduction of the police force and prisons.  The focus will be on how attitudes towards criminals change over time and how punishments reflect the needs and requirements of the governments at the time. Next, students will study the Native Americans.  This forms part of the broader curriculum where the students will be studying a country and culture which is completely different to their own. The focus will be on how European settlement impacted on the lives of the Native Americans. Lastly, students will study the USA in the 1920s and the changes that came about.  This examines the impact that this society had on the wider world and generally explains the birth of the modern world that we live in today.

By the time that students leave BHA they will have studied a variety of topics (as stated above), used and demonstrated all key history skills and developed writing skills ready for them to take the next step in their educational career. This includes explaining reasons why events happened, making links between causes and consequences, explain why some things change and stay the same within and across different time periods, begin to suggest reasons why the past has been interpreted differently, explain why there are some differences and similarities within and across different time periods, begin to recognise why some events, people and places are more significant than others and evaluate evidence such as identifying primary and secondary sources, recognise bias, facts and opinions and assess if sources are reliable and useful (Working At CRE expectations by the end of Year 8).  Pupils will also be expected to write short answers to questions as well as extended answers and be able to demonstrate their knowledge using structured paragraphs where their ideas are explained and supported by using examples and evidence and conclude by justifying their opinions.