History

Curriculum Intent 

The History Department at Unity College will empower students to question, consider and reach rational judgements that will help them both in college and as adults. We will explore the key changes to British and world history and seek to explain why changes occurred and what effect they have had on our lives today.

Staff

Key Stage Three

In Key Stage Three, students at Unity College embark on a series of historical enquiries to develop their historical skills, and to broaden and diversity their knowledge and understanding of British and world history.

Year 7 – Topics of Learning

• How do historians work? Focusing on the Vikings
• Why did William the Conqueror win at Hastings? And how did he control the English?
• How have historians discovered the lost history of West Africa?
• How far was life transformed in medieval England?
• To what extent were the Silk Roads the central nervous system of the world?
• Was the Renaissance really a ‘re-birth’?
• Does Queen Elizabeth I really deserve the title ‘Gloriana?’
• How similar was life in the Mughal Empire to life in medieval Britain?

Year 8 – Topics of Learning 

• Were the Pendle Witches victims of misogyny?
• Why was King Charles I beheaded?
• What were the consequences of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade?
• How similar was life across the British Empire?
• How important was the Industrial Revolution?
• Did restricting foreign access help or hinder Japan?
• Why did Britain go to war in 1914?
• How did soldiers experience the First World War?
• How did women win the vote?

Year 9 – Topics of Learning 

• Did life get better in Soviet Russia?
• Was life in Nazi Germany similar to Soviet Russia?
• How could the Holocaust happen?
• What was the most important turning point in the Second World War?
• What were the consequences of the Vietnam War?
• Did post-war Britain create a fairer society?
• How did healthcare change between medieval and Renaissance Britain?

Key Stage Four

History students study the AQA GCSE specification:

The GCSE will be graded from 9-1 and will comprise of two exams, each 2 hours in length. The students cover a wide range of history and will help students understand the world we live in.

History will develop key skills such as change and continuity, cause and effect, source analysis and evaluation, making complex judgements and reasoning.

Students should be aware that at GCSE level, History requires a high level of commitment and will involve independent study each week in order to consolidate and deepen knowledge.

Requirements for studying GCSE History:

• An interest in History
• A positive attitude
• Excellent Literacy skills
• Commitment to hard work
• The ability to work with others and independently

Any students or parents/carers who would like further information above the History course, should contact Mr Hargraves at the College.