History
Our purpose is to develop the intellectual and emotional character of our students through their study of the diversity of environments, human experience and to inspire students to be curious, questioning and reflective individuals.
At A level our students study the Edexcel History syllabus, creating flexibility as well as a sense of breadth across a broad time-frame. Students study Nationalism, dictatorship and democracy in twentieth-century Europe alongside a study of The British Empire, 1763–1914.
Lessons will involve group discussions, debates and presentations as well as learning to take notes from books and teachers’ verbal explanations. Examinations consist of a range of questions, some based on interpretations and others requiring the analysis of causes, change and significance. Students should develop the ability to reach independent judgements based on a thorough consideration of the evidence and learn to argue a case convincingly both orally and on paper.
Entry Requirements
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Students will need a broad and enthusiastic interest in the social and political developments which have helped to shape Britain and the Modern World. Students should also enjoy studying a range of different historical periods and individuals.
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Students should be willing to take part in discussions and be ready to read around the subject in order to build upon the understanding they will develop within lessons. They should also be keen to reflect upon the views of historians and to assess the perspectives offered by a wide range of different source materials. It is expected that students wishing to take this course will have achieved grade B in a Humanities subject and/or GCSE English. It is hoped that students will gain a rich and varied understanding of different historical periods and develop high level historical skills.
Year One
Students will study two topics. The first topic considers key political changes experienced in a unified Germany and then in West Germany after the Second World War, and the impact of these changes on German economic, social and cultural developments. This topic also contains a study of the extent to which Hitler’s foreign policy was responsible for the Second World War.
The focus of the second unit of study centres on the British Empire, 1763-1914. Looking at social, economic and political issues, students will study a series of developments that started with an imperial catastrophe which threatened to reduce Britain once more to a European offshore island but would then transform Britain's standing in the world so that by the end of the period it had the largest empire the world has known.
Year Two
Students will complete a study in depth of the turbulent years in Italy that saw the collapse of the liberal state, the creation of a fascist dictatorship under Mussolini and a return to democracy in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Students will also complete a coursework unit that focuses on different interpretations of a topic of their choice. This coursework assignment is designed to test their historical skills and understanding and will challenge students to consider a range of different interpretations from topics as varied as the outbreak of the First World War to the Russian Revolution and domestic rule of Napoleon.