History Studies are accessed in the History Room and are open to students from Class 3 onwards. The timetable allows plenty of opportunities to follow and develop personal areas of interest, as well as the study of discrete, taught units, some of which can lead to an exam course*.
Whatever the circumstance, the major focus of any study is always based around engagement in questioning and discussion, as well as developing skills of recording ideas in a range of creative forms. This approach ensures that students have the experience of both the breadth and depth of the topics they meet and the time to enjoy and gain personal satisfaction from investigation and discovery.
When students arrive in Class 3 for the first time, they often ask to access information about British History. Some knowledge of British History helps to give them, as members of a culturally diverse community, a common grounding of a range of the significant themes in history that have helped to shape the United Kingdom. It also helps them to begin to understand events in the media and current affairs.
There is however scope and time available to study a much wider range of topics. Opportunities to investigate the ‘seeds of an idea’ are always welcomed, as are opportunities to discuss and challenge ‘big statements’, which may be considered by some to be fact rather than opinion.
The learning journey of meeting individual needs is a shared process, key questions to be researched are planned to maintain and develop the original enthusiasm. The pace is determined by all those engaged and the study is lengthened or shortened based on levels of interest and enjoyment. In recent terms topics as diverse as: ‘What exactly is Sutton Hoo?’, 'The Napoleonic Wars and Napoleon’s tactics’, ‘The History of Romania’, ‘The Politics of Ancient Rome’, ‘Pioneers: Women Aviators of the 20th Century’. Have been researched by individuals or small groups. All the studies are arrived at through negotiation at Sign Up and resourced by the History teacher in readiness for a dynamic and energised start to the study. (Some of these lessons would be referred to as Individual Studies on the school timetable.)
The History Room is a bright, well-resourced learning environment. Displays of different historical topics and examples of student’s work change regularly to stimulate interest and generate questions.
*A 2-year IGCSE Course is offered to students through Sign Up. We currently use the Cambridge IGCSE (0470) the focus of which is ‘International Relations during the 20th Century’. The course is rigorous but very enlightening. It covers areas of study from ‘Causes of the First World War’ to ‘The Collapse of Communism’. Students also carry out an In-depth study of ‘Germany 1918-1945’. Experience has shown that many students feel enriched by the study and by the end of the course have a greater understanding about the background to and roots of current world events.
Students are expected to have completed some discrete History studies prior to starting the IGCSE exam course. This is regarded by the examination board as a course requirement.
