Vision Statement

The History department’s vision is to produce students that are inquisitive, well rounded, and well equipped to attain their personal best. This course will give students a wide breadth of knowledge on the development of Britain and the wider-world whilst equipping the students with investigative and problem solving skills as well as encouraging students to be analytical and evaluative when looking at representations of the past and contemporary sources. To assist with the site study that is required for this course there is a trip to Coalbrookdale which helps to bring the History learned in lessons to life and gives a greater understanding of the strengths and limitations of studying a site to find out about the past. All content will be assessed by 3 external exams at the end of Year 11.

Specification being followed: OCR GCSE History B Schools History Project (9-1)

Year 10 and 11

Year 10 and 11

Introduction video

History Around Us – Coalbrookdale

You will use the site visit to Coalbrookdale and information learned about the Industrial Revolution and explain answer different questions based on the site of Coalbrookdale. Examples may include:
How and why the site has changed throughout history
How typical the site is when compared to other places in the Industrial Revolution
How attitudes of important people at the site may be similar or different to the rest of the country
How and why activities at the site may have changed throughout history
How and why the site might be considered locally or national important

Crime and Punishment 1250 - Present Day

This is a thematic study in which you will need to be able to describe and explain change, continuity, the pace of change, the importance of certain events, their causes and their consequences using the context of the time. You will need to know about:

Crime & Criminals
Law enforcement (Policing and courts)
Punishments

From the following periods:

1250-1500 – Medieval
1500-1750 – Early Modern
1750-1900 – Industrial Revolution
1900-Present Day – Modern

The Elizabethans 1580 – 1603

This is a depth study that focusses on a shorter period of time. You will need to be able to understand how complex society was and how political, religious economic, social and cultural issues inter play and how and why historians have viewed these in different ways. The focus will be on:

Elizabeth and government – How powerful was Queen Elizabeth I? Court; Privy council; Rebellion of the Earl of Essex; Parliament and Puritan opposition
Catholics – How much of a threat were the Catholics? The religious settlement after 1580; Catholic links abroad; plots against Elizabeth; the Elizabethan spy network; Mary Queen of Scots; the Spanish Armada and war with Spain
Daily lives – What mattered to the Elizabethans? The contrasting lives of rich, middling and poor Elizabethans; Family life; poverty and its causes, explanations and responses
Merry England – What lay behind changes in popular culture? Theatres and their opponents; the Puritan attack on popular culture and the persecution of witches
Going Global – What did the Elizabethan adventurers achieve? The motives and achievements of adventurers; Roanoke: USA and trade with Asia

The Making of America 1789 – 1900

You will need to identify, describe and explain events and developments relating to American expansion and the relationship between American Indians, African Americans and white Americans throughout this period. Areas to focus on are:

America’s expansion 1789-1838 – How and why America expanded, the expansion of Southern cotton plantations and slavery, the removal of indigenous people from the East
The West 1839-60 – The culture of the Plains Indians, the journeys of early migrants to California and Oregon, the Mormon settlement of Utah, California and Pike’s Peak Gold Rushes
Civil War and Reconstruction 1861-77 – Divisions over slavery and the causes of the US Civil War, The African- American experience of the Civil War, Reconstruction and limitations to the freedom of African-Americans
Settlement and conflict on the Plains 1861-177 – Exploitation of the Plains through railroads, ranches and cow towns, Homesteaders, The Indian Wars including Little Crow’s War, Red Cloud’s War and the Great Sioux War
American cultures 1877-1900 – Changes to the Plains Indian’s way of life including the destruction of the buffalo and reservations, the impact of economic, social and political change to the lives of African-Americans, the growth of big business, cities and mass migration

Living Under Nazi Rule 1933 - 1945

A study that uses contextual knowledge to analyse primary sources, historians’ interpretations and how evidence can be interpreted in different ways. Key questions considered are: