History


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Course Overview: History

History is a very popular subject at Cardinal Allen. At KS3, we operate a two-week timetable, teaching History for 3 hours over the two weeks. For KS4 we have 2 hours in year 9 and in years 10 & 11 we have 3 hours per week.  History is taught by two specialist teachers, Mrs McMahon (curriculum leader) and Mr Bradley, in two specialised History rooms, one with ICT facilities.  At the end of each module of work there will be an assessed piece of work, either formal writing or a different kind of task, testing different skills. All lessons are focused around a topic enquiry question and cover different skills.


Year 7

Half Term 1

Topic one: Who should be remembered as the founder of England?

This includes: the Danish invasion in the 9th century and was King Alfred really so great?

Topic two: Did the Normans bring a ‘truckload of trouble’ to England in 1066?

Half Term 2

Topic 3: Who presented the biggest threat to medieval monarchs; peasants, barons, clergy or family?

This includes: Henry II and Thomas Becket, King John, the Magna Carta and revolting peasants.

Half Term 3

Topic 4: How reforming was the reformation?

This includes: new ideas from Europe, Henry’s break from Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries, Catholic martyrs, Bloody Mary and Elizabeth’s religious settlement.

Half Term 4

Topic 5: Did the British gain their empire by accident?

This includes: the settlement of North America, India, the colonisation of Australia and the Royal Navy.

Half Term 5

Topic 6: Was the British Empire a good thing?

This includes: The gains for Britain from empire, slavery and the campaign to abolish it, the Irish potato famine and British rule in Africa.

Half Term 6

Topic 7: Which revolution in the ‘Age of Revolutions’ was the most revolutionary?

This includes: The American revolution, the French revolution and the Industrial revolution, with a focus on the effects on Lancashire.

Year 8

Half Term 1

Topic 1: A right revolutionary time – Why were the British revolting in the 19th century?

This includes the impact of new ideas, the conditions in the cities during the industrial revolution and a study of how close to revolution Britain came in the 19th century.

Half Term 2

Topic 2: Breaking free – Wonder Women. How far did women’s lives change up to the end of 1918?

This includes: Victorian attitudes towards women, important women in British history, the campaign of votes for women and the role of women in WWI.

Half Term 3

Topic 3: What was it like to live and fight in World War One?

This includes: How did two bullets cause the deaths of 20 million, how did stalemate develop on the Western Front, who fought in the British army, the Battle of the Somme and the end of the war.

Half Term 4

Topic 4: Why did so many dictatorships develop after the First World War?

This includes: The Treaty of Versailles, the Russian Revolutions of 1917, the ideology of Communism, Stalin and the rise of fascism in Europe.

Half Term 5

Topic 5: Defeating the dictators: World War Two

This includes: The causes of WWII, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, the Home Front, Pearl Harbor and a study of the war around the world, looking at the key turning points, the end of the war in Europe and in the Pacific and the moral rights and wrongs of the atomic bombs.

Half Term 6

Topic 6: The human impact of WWII

This includes: Nazi race policy, life for Jewish people in Europe and the Final Solution.

Topic 7: Overall enquiry – how has life changed from the 19th Century to the 21st Century?

Course Overview: History

History is taught for 2 hours per week in year 9 and for 3 hours per week in years 10 and 11. We follow the Edexcel GCSE History 9-1 course, the specification for which can be found here:

History Course Specification

We cover four modules throughout the course, which culminate in June of year 11 with 3 written exams. The first module is Early Elizabethan England, 1558-1588. This is worth 20% of the marks and is examined in paper 2. We follow this with a period study of Medicine in Britain, 1250 to present day, with a depth study of the British sector of the Western Front 1914-1918: injuries, treatment and the trenches. This is examined in paper 1 and is worth 30% of the grade.  Our third topic is the challenging and fascinating study of the Cold War – Superpower relations, 1941-1991. This is worth 20% of the grade and is examined in paper 2. Finally, we end with a topic that links closely to the Cold War topic – America 1954-1975; conflict at home and abroad. This is examined in paper 3 and is worth 30% of the course.  This is a rigorous and exciting GCSE course, designed to stretch and challenge the students and build on and deepen their Historical understanding from KS3.

Year 9

Half Term 1

Unit 1: Early Elizabethan England, 1558-1588

Module 1: Queen, government and religion 1558-1569

Half Term 2

Unit 1: Early Elizabethan England, 1558-1588

Module 2: Challenges to Elizabeth at home and abroad 1569-1588

Half Term 3

Unit 1: Early Elizabethan England, 1558-1588

Module 3: Elizabethan society in the age of exploration 1558-88.

Revision of unit 1: Early Elizabethan England

Half Term 4

Unit 2: Medicine in Britain 1250-present day

Module 1: Medicine in Medieval England

Half Term 5

Unit 2: Medicine in Britain 1250-present day

Module 1: Medicine in Medieval England

Half Term 6

Unit 2: Medicine in Britain 1250-present day

Module 2: The medical renaissance in England 1500-1700

Year 10

Half Term 1

Unit 2: Medicine in Britain 1250-present day

Module 2: The medical renaissance in England 1500-1700

Module 3: Medicine in 18th and 19th century Britain 1500-1700

Half Term 2

Unit 2: Medicine in Britain 1250-present day

Module 4: Medicine in modern Britain 1900 – present day

Half Term 3

Unit 2: The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches

Module 1: The historic environment

Half Term 4

Unit 3: Superpower relations and the Cold War 1943-1991

Module 1: The origins of the Cold War 1943-1958

Half Term 5

Unit 3: Superpower relations and the Cold War 1943-1991

Module 1: The origins of the Cold War 1943-1958

Module 2: Cold War crises, 1958-70

Half Term 6

Unit 3: Superpower relations and the Cold War 1943-1991

Module 2: Cold War crises, 1958-70

Year 11

Half Term 1

Unit 3: Superpower relations and the Cold War 1943-1991

Module 3: The end of the Cold War, 1970-1991

Half Term 2

Unit 4: The USA, 1954-75: Conflict at home and abroad.

Module 1: The development of the Civil Rights movement, 1954-60.

Half Term 3

Unit 4: The USA, 1954-75: Conflict at home and abroad.

Module 2: Protest, progress and radicalism, 1960-75

Half Term 4

Unit 4: The USA, 1954-75: Conflict at home and abroad.

Module 3: US involvement in Vietnam 1954-1973


Course Information

Course Name: History
Qualification Type: GCSE
Awarding Body: Edexcel
Specification code: 1H10

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Download specification

We undertake a program of enrichment in History that is designed to appeal to a broad range of abilities and interests.

History Club for KS3 students
Lunchtime study sessions for KS4 students
A focused program of revision lessons for KS4
Curriculum based trip at KS3 to London
Curriculum based trip at KS4
Curriculum based trips to various museums
Holocaust Enrichment Day
Support for the more able students