History
"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 Muslim and Chinese worlds.
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 1642-60. 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 First World War and especially its effects on civilians, before moving on to the rise of the dictators, notably Adolf Hitler and his rule of Germany, focusing subsequently on the Holocaust. Finally they study modern cases of political strife, including South Africa and apartheid, the Arab-Israeli crisis, and 21st century crises such as Chechnya, the Congo, Tibet, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.
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 1918-1970, and two studies in depth chosen from Russia 1914-1941, USA 1919-41, Civil Rights in the USA 1955-1968, and the Vietnam War. History coursework (now called a controlled assessment) involves drawing comparisons between the First and Second World Wars.
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 AQA AS syllabus involves one module on England 1483-1529, which covers the infamous Richard III, the usurping Henry VII, and the early years of the ever-glamorous Henry VIII, together with his mentor, Cardinal Wolsey. The second module is on the much-loved (but little-known in this country) French king, Henry IV, who solved the savage wars of religion and set France on its way to more than a century of domination over Europe.
The single A2 examined module focuses on the latter years of Tudor England, from 1547-1603, covering a detailed survey of themes and events during the very contrasting reigns of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth. Pupils will also produce an individually-researched and written piece of coursework, of around 4000 words, on some aspect of the Spanish and Portuguese empires between 1415 and 1609. Each pupil will choose their own topic and question, and while they will receive individual tutoring, the piece will be very much their own.
