Welcome to the History Department                                     

Curriculum Intent

Students will be encouraged to develop a chronological framework of British and world history that will enable them to make sense of the new knowledge they acquire. This will also allow them to understand the process of change, to see how we arrived ‘here’ and help them to make sense of the present.

At Key Stage 3 our aim is to build on the students’ knowledge and understanding of the big ideas and processes of history:

• To understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance and use them to make connections, frame historically valid questions and create their own structured accounts. History’s unique concepts help students to construct arguments and support them to become analytical citizens who can question human motivation and society with skill and confidence. We want young people to gain an increasingly mature and informed historical perspective on their world.
• To understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed. Students will be able to use historical evidence, identify, explain and understand differing historical interpretations. This would develop their skills in historical explanations in Key Stage 3 which they will be able to continue to master in their Key Stage 4 and 5 studies.

Our rationale for the selection of the schemes of learning across all Key Stages is determined by our desire for Warriner pupils to enjoy learning, asking questions, building a bigger picture of their knowledge and understanding of British history and wider world history. It is also to understand connections from local to international history; between political, religious, economic, and social history, and between short- and long-term timescales. These schemes of learning are knowledge rich, with the focus on the role of declarative knowledge (to know that), however the role of disciplinary (thinking like a historian) and procedural (how to) are important ingredients to learning. Our curriculum is rich with cultural capital and the knowledge of Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary.

The components of each unit identified in the mini curriculum intent sheets or PLC, to introduce each unit, why we’re learning about that part of history and explain the purpose of the following lessons or components as they are the building blocks of the bigger picture which is the overarching key question for that unit of work. At the end of each unit the aim is for students to be able to make connections and build on that web of knowledge. Joining the dots from KS2 to KS3 and cross-curricular. For example, KS2 ancient Greek and Roman studies lay the foundations for KS3 Medieval beliefs around disease and treatment which feeds into KS4 thematic studies on British Health and medicine. This connects with KS2+3+4 Science.

Other Information

Year 7 Trip to Warwick Castle to complement the Medieval England module.
Year 10 Trip to Hampton Court Palace to complement the Elizabethan England module.

A Level Trip to the Houses of Parliament and the War Cabinet Rooms to complement the Y113 module.

Our visit to Warwick Castle was the best trip ever!

Year 7 student