History

“We are not makers of History. We are made by History.” Martin Luther King Jr.

RESULTS

History students at CSIA get a fantastic deal from their teachers, who are passionate about their history studies and student success.

History is a very popular option subject at GCSE. In August 2023, 95% of our GCSE History students passed, of which 23% achieved the top grades: 7-9.

Our A Level History shares the success of the VI Form where we have 100% Pass rate and results for the last 5 years have been at least 88% A*-C.

WHY TAKE HISTORY?

History dominates every decision we make daily. It helps us understand change and how society has adapted to challenges over the years. From the Greeks and Persians to the Tudors and World War, History encompasses everything we have grown to love about the world: mystery and development.

“History is everything that has ever happened on the planet. History brings you the most extraordinary, dramatic, tragic and fascinating stories of our shared past.” Dan Snow – The History Guy

History is fascinating. Studying it will feed your child’s curiosity about the world and help them to understand today’s cultures and world events through what they have learnt about the past. Studying the subject will help your child to develop valuable life skills, such as analysis, evaluation and discussion, regardless of the path they follow.

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” – Marcus Garvey.

KEY STAGE 3

All students in Year 7, 8 and 9 study History through 3 periods a fortnight. Our Key Stage 3 curriculum is divided up into ‘semesters’, with each semester developing the same core historical skills of knowledge and understandingexplanationsource analysis and interpretations, through a different topic. This will allow students to develop and gain confidence in these skills throughout the key stage.

In Year 7, students will study historical topics based on the overall theme of developing relations between the state and the people.
Autumn Semester: How did the Normans conquer and control England?
Winter Semester: Who really had the power in the Middle Ages?
Spring Semester: Was Elizabethan England really a Golden Age?
Summer Semester: Why did England go to war with their King?

In Year 8, students continue their historical studies with topics based on the overall theme of the development of the modern world and conflicts.
Autumn Semester: How has the life of African Americans changed over the last 300 years?
Winter Semester: How did Britain change during the Industrial Revolution?
Spring Semester: Why and How did X’s life change between 1914-1918?
Summer Semester: What was the most significant moment of the 2nd World War?

In Year 9, students further their historical studies with topics based on the overall theme of relations between nations and their peoples.
Autumn Semester: How should Britain view its Imperial Past?
Winter Semester: What was the Holocaust?
Spring Semester: Are some revolutions more ‘revolutionary’ than others?
Summer Semester: How has the last 1000 years affected Britain?

KEY STAGE 4

The new History GCSE has provided the department with a fantastic opportunity to broaden our curriculum. We have created a course, which enables students to study History from the Medieval Age, the Early Modern Period through to the very present day. With international politics and British social histories, we think there is something to peak all student’s interests.

Our current exam board is Edexcel. Students study 4 topics, which will be examined over 3 exam papers at the end of Year 11. Revision and assessment opportunities are built in throughout the 2 years and there is plenty of revision time in Year 11 to prepare for the exams. The exam board we follow for GCSE is Edexcel.

Students will study:

  • Medicine in Britain c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches
  • Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88
  • The American West, 1835-1895
  • Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–1939

VI FORM

Students continuing on to complete an A-Level in History are fully supported through the transition, in coordination with the VI Form programme.

A-Level History continues to be a rigorous qualification, designed to develop, enhance and consolidate key skills in analysis, evaluation, synthesis and interpretation. A valued qualification by both universities and employers, A-Level in History allows students to build up a set of thinking skills and prepare them for higher education and the world of work. Continuing from our programme at GCSE, the CSIA History A-Level covers a wide range of time periods and societies to ensure students are provided with a diverse range of topics. The Exam board we follow for A-Level is OCR.

“The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

Students will study:

  • Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035-1107
  • French Revolution and the rule of Napoleon 1774-1815
  • Changing Nature of Warfare 1792-1945
  • Individual topic based essay (3000-4000 words) – topic of student’s choice

TRIPS & VISITS

The History department feels strongly about the importance of offering educational trips and visits as part of our whole school programme. Over recent years Key Stage 3 trips have included visits to Trerice Manor House and Geevor Tin Mine. Our international ‘field-trips’ are available to students taking GCSE and A-Level History and run annually. These include a visit to the 1st World War battlefields of France and Belgium, and a cross-continent tour to Berlin and Poland, where we visit Auschwitz. These trips are very popular with students.

The History Department has also worked to bring these experiences into the classroom through working with outside agencies such as Holocaust Educational Trust and the National Army Museum. This has enabled us to provide students with the unique opportunity to hear the first-hand testimony of Holocaust survivors and get to grips with artefacts from the 1st World War.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME

The History department has participated regularly in the unique International Programme that CSIA offers, through attending the annual Humanities International Student Forum in Kyoto, Japan. This opportunity is open to GCSE and A-Level Humanities students and involves creating and delivering a presentation along a pre-selected humanities ‘theme’, such as: progress, sustainable ocean use, nuclear energy and multiculturalism. Students work alongside students from schools around the world throughout the forum on one of these issues, whilst also enjoying cultural excursions.

CAREERS

The wide variety of skills that History qualifications provide students can lead to a range of career opportunities, either directly related to History or only distantly connected. These can include:

STAFF

Ms K Jones – BA (Hons.) – Head of History
Mr J Ross – BA (Hons.) LLB – Director of Key Stage 5 and Teacher of History
Mr A Boniface – BA (Hons.), MA – Lead Practitioner
Ms C Landers – BA (Hons.) – Teacher of History
Mr T Williams – BA (Hons.), MA – Director of Year 11 and Teacher of History
Miss Harasymiw – BA (Hons.), MA – 2nd in Department and Teacher of History
Ms B Woolway – BA (Hons.) – Teacher of History
Miss M Rail – BA (Hons.) – Teacher of History

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