History

History is very popular in the Senior School. You will find it stimulating, challenging and fascinating. Our students realise that History not only broadens their horizons but also helps them to understand the vital current concerns of identity and heritage. You will be encouraged to think critically, weigh evidence, construct logical arguments and reach reasoned conclusions. History will allow you to acquire those skills necessary for the construction of argument: to listen attentively, identify meaning and intentions, read confidently and gain information from written texts, films photographs, museums, historical sites and also the resources of the internet. There will be many opportunities for independent study. History is taught in two dedicated classrooms alongside each other in the Main Building. The well stocked Library and ICT suites will facilitate your research. The Department is well equipped with a wide variety of textbooks, DVDs and other visual material. Each Key Stage has a field work programme linked to the course of study. For the GCSE field work a residential course is provided each year in France and Belgium, whilst Years 7-9 each have day courses of “Living History” within the United Kingdom.

Years 7 -9

All our students gain an understanding of British History from Medieval to modern times. In Year 7 the main themes of Medieval History are covered, such as the power of the King, the Feudal System, the Church and life in the village. Our study of the development of the castle is enhanced by our field trip to Caldicot Castle where actors in costume intrigue our groups with their detailed accounts of various aspects of medieval life.

Year 8 continues with a study of the Tudor and Stuart monarchs, the impact of the Reformation, the growth in the power of Parliament, the Civil War, the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution. Again, field work is closely linked and a Civil War Day is greatly enjoyed at Llancaiaich Fawr, where Year 8 is transformed into a transformed into a division of the Royalist Army.

Year 9 brings our course of British study up to the twentieth century. The Autumn Term begins with a study of the growth of power in imperial Britain, the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the emerging working class and feminist struggles for power. Field work is undertaken at the Black Country Museum to underpin the social aspect of our studies. From the Spring Term, GCSE studies begin with a consideration of the causes of World War I, followed by introductory studies of the War on the Western Front.

Years 10 -11 (GCSE)

History becomes an option rather than a core subject. It is chosen and enjoyed by the majority of GCSE students, keen to develop their understanding of the modern world and its political background. We follow the AQA Modern History course: Britain’s involvement in World War I (with associated residential fieldwork on the Battlefields), the international history of the interwar period and the Cold War. This is followed by in-depth studies of Nazi Germany and Tsarist and communist Russia, including the dictatorships of Lenin and Stalin. Independent coursework is based on Britain’s experience in World War II.

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