Senior History

Kings Ely senior

Academic

History

Our aim is to inspire in our pupils a passion for learning about the past, and to instil in them the confidence to investigate it critically.

 

Our aim to bring this wonderful subject to life, to inspire in our pupils a passion for learning about the past and to instil in them the confidence to investigate it critically.

"Not only do you learn about a wide range of important historical events, you also get to attend many fun extracurricular activities like going to The Old Operating Theatre in London or just the weekly History cafés!"
Alice, King's Ely Student 

At King’s Ely, it is our aim to bring this wonderful subject to life, to inspire in our pupils a passion for learning about the past, and to instil in them the confidence to investigate it critically.

Building on their enthusiasm, we aim to foster a spirit of enquiry, enabling our pupils to ask penetrating questions and to follow them through analytically.

Our year 9 historians study the era of the Second World War. The course follows a variety of themes, starting with the causes of WWII. We then focus on the war itself and its impact, covering a diverse range of topics from the fall of France and defence of Britain in 1940, to the far eastern theatre and defeat of Japan in 1945.

During the GCSE course students will explore cause and consequence, continuity and change, similarity and difference in a number of historical periods.

The development of particular skills will be important: how to find out information from first-hand sources and from other people’s writings; how to present what has been discovered in a logical way.

 

GCSE Topic Overview

 

Paper 1: Thematic study and historic environment

Section A: Medicine in Britain, c.1250-present

Students will study the key features in the development of medicine in this period and analyse how they linked with developments in British society.

Section B: The British sector of the Western Front, 1914-18: injuries treatment and the trenches

Students will study the British sector of the Western Front during WWI and analyse the conditions requiring medical treatment, the nature of wounds and the significance of the Western Front in the development of medicine.

Paper 2: Period study and British depth study

Section A: Period study - Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91

Students will learn about the development of the Cold War after WWII, Cold War crisis 1958-1970, and how the Cold War came to an end.

Section B: British depth study - Early Elizabethan England, 1558-88

Students will learn about the domestic and foreign challenges facing Elizabeth I and how she dealt with them, from her ascent to power until the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. They will then look at socio-economic and cultural developments in this period of Elizabeth’s reign.

Paper 3: Modern depth study

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-39

Students will learn about the Weimar Republic established in Germany after WWI, Hitler’s rise to power how the Nazi’s controlled Germany, and what life in Nazi Germany was like in the period 1933-39

Assessments


Paper 1: Thematic study and historic environment 
(30% of qualification)

  • Examination (1 hour 15 minutes)
  • Section A: Medicine in Britain, c.1250-present
  • Section B: The British sector of the Western Front, 1914-18: injuries treatment and the trenches


Paper 2: Period study and British depth study 
(40% of qualification)

  • Examination (1 hour 45 minutes)
  • Section A: Period study - Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91
  • Section B: British depth study - Early Elizabethan England, 1558-88


Paper 3: Modern depth study 
(30% of qualification)

  • Examination (1 hour 20 minutes)
  • Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-39

History GCSE Exam Specification

 


Meet the HEAD OF HISTORY

Colin Currie

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EMAIL COLIN CURRIE 


 

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