Staff

Head of Department – Mrs. R. Clay

Head of Sixth Form History – Mrs H. Shaw

History Teaching Staff – Mr A. Shreeve
Mrs E. Massey
Mr N. Callaghan
Mrs M. May

History at Kenilworth School & Sports College

Kenilworth School and Sports College offers an exciting and varied History Curriculum across the age ranges developing skills of analysis, interpretation and explanation. At Key Stage 3 we offer topics as diverse as the Romans, Medieval and Tudor England, the Industrial Revolution and the 20th Century.

GCSE History has a very large uptake in numbers of pupils, following a modern History path studying topics including The Cold War, The Depression in the 1930s and the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the early 20th century (the Suffragettes).

A-level History is one of Castle Sixth Form’s most popular subjects, offering two different A-Levels: Early Modern History (Europe and England in the 15th and 16th centuries) or a Modern World Course (focusing on Britain, Russia and Germany in the last 100 years).

From Years 7 – 13 History is an incredibly popular subject, offering cross curricular skills, developing an understanding of the wider world and showing us how we got to where we are now.

Key Stage 3

In line with the new KS3 National Curriculum, we are introducing a new and exciting approach to studying History. From September 2008 students will embark on a thematic approach to studying History, looking at ‘Changing Lives and Attitudes’ in Year 7. From September 2009 year 8 students will learn about ‘Power, Protest and Empire’ and from September 2010, Year 9 students will focus on ‘Conflict, Cooperation and Peace’. By the end of year 9, students should have a strong sense of chronology and a broad overview of History from Medieval times until today.

We are looking to develop more successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens, as well as superb Historians.

Year 7: Pupils will study the following:

‘What is History?’ An introductory course to studying History focusing on developing historical skills and evaluating different interpretations. Students will learn to use and evaluate evidence from the past and craft reasoned arguments. This unit looks at the importance of studying History today and introduces skills of independent thinking that are useful in subjects across Humanities and the wider school.
‘Changing Lives and Attitudes’. This new course focuses on how lives have changed for people from Ancient Rome until the present day. This thematic approach to studying History will give students a sense of chronology and period as they look at the key features of daily life over hundreds of years. They will build a sense of how lives, attitudes and beliefs have changed over time as well as developing the skills needed to be successful in History.

Year 8: The following topics are covered:

“The Industrial Revolution” – this unit looks at how Britain became the first Industrial Nation between 1750 and 1900. Emphasis is placed on the social impact of this event on the people of the nation, looking at life in towns and cities.
“Black People’s of America” - Highlighting the origins, role of, and consequences of slavery, this module provides students with an understanding of the issue of slavery. Emphasis is placed upon the Civil Rights Movement from the 1950s and the nature of equality amongst all groups of people in the world.

Year 9: “The 20th Century”

The Origins and events of the First World War – students study for an assessed piece on changing attitudes towards the “Great War” between 1914 and 1918.
The Rise of Hitler – emphasising the effects of the 1929 Depression and how extreme poverty led to the rise of Dictators in Europe, including Adolf Hitler in Germany.
World War Two – all students study the foundations of the Second World War, the significant events and the Holocaust (Links with Year 9 Religious Education)
The world since 1945 – studying topics as diverse as “Hippies” in the 1960s, the Cold War, 1945 - 91, the rise of media (e.g. television) and more. This unit provides a link to many of the GCSE topics that students can take in Year 10 and 11 History.
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