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St Mary's GCSE students investigate the surviving WW1 trenches in Belgium

"Whoever neglects learning in his youth loses the Past, and becomes dead to the Future." Euripides (480-406 BC), Greek playwright.

"To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to remain always a child." Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman orator.

"The study of History is the beginning of wisdom." Jean Bodin (1530-96), French economist

"History is the discovering of the principles of human nature." David Hume (1711-1776), Scottish philosopher.

"History is a poem written by Time upon the memories of man." Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), British poet.

“What is all knowledge but recorded experience, and a product of history.”  Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), British writer.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana (1863-1952), US philosopher.

"A people which does not know its history is like a man who has lost his memory." Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Chinese revolutionary leader.

"History is the ship carrying living memories to the future." Stephen Spender (1909-95), British writer.

Or to put it another way, in the words of John D. Clare, a British teacher and children's writer: "History is the record of everything that has ever happened to anyone, anywhere. If you are not interested in history, there is something wrong with you!"

History in Key Stage 3

Year 7 (Upper Third) study medieval England, both politically and socially, and then compare it with the contemporary Muslim world.

Year 8 (Lower Fourth) study a module based on revolution - religious, political and social. This begins with a detailed survey of the English Reformation, and its impact. This is followed by the 17th century political crisis that led to the Civil Wars of 1639-60. Finally the students look at the social and economic revolution that encompassed Britain in the 18th and 19th century.

Year 9 (Upper Fourth) study a variety of interlinked areas, all of which have had direct impact on today’s world, and which share a consideration of people’s rights.  The first term looks at the British Empire and the issue of slavery and its abolition, then moves on to the French Revolution and its impacts.  In the Spring Term pupils consider the causes of the First World War and a consider that conflict briefly, before moving on to a more detailed treatment of World War II, focusing especially on the Holocaust. In their final term, they study two modern cases of great political strife - South African apartheid, and the Arab-Israeli conflict, which they will consider from its beginnings right up to what is happening there today.

GCSE History

At GCSE students learn about the famous and the infamous, the rebel and the reactionary, the hero and the villain. They study some of the most important events of the 20th Century and the lives of the ordinary people who had to live through these.

The AQA Syllabus covers International History 1919-63, Britain in the First World War, and two studies in depth chosen from Russia 1919-41, Germany 1918-39 and USA 1919-41. History coursework covers one British and one international topic.

Many of the questions studied have no obvious answers and students are required to evaluate historical information, develop and express their own ideas, and enter into the lives of people from many different countries and cultures. After two years students will have a better understanding of the events which have shaped the world in which we live and of the workings of modern day politics. They will be able to weigh up evidence and make sound judgements about controversial issues.

History at A-Level

We study the 15th and 16th centuries because they are colourful and exciting, because this was a period of great change, and because many of today's political, religious and social institutions can be said to have originated then.

The OCR AS syllabus involves one module on the Voyages of Exploration and Discovery 1450-1530, the reign of Henry VII of England, and a document paper on Martin Luther and the German Reformation 1517-1530.

The A2 syllabus covers the Tudor Rebellions 1485-1603, and the reign of Philip II of Spain 1556-1598, together with a coursework essay which can be on any subject between 768 and 1990. Recent examples have included the First Crusade; the importance of religion to the Aztecs; whether Columbus was really so significant; the myth and reality of Elizabeth I; the Clubmen in the English Civil War; the political effect of the Hell-Fire Club; necessity for collectivization in Soviet Russia; the responsibility for the Cuban Missile Crisis; and the Chinese Cultural Revolution.