History

The study of History is essential for improving our understanding of the world and our place in it. 

As the French writer Lamartine said “History teaches everything including the future.” 

At Kingshill History students are taught investigative, analytical and evaluative skills which enable them to make informed 
judgements and which will be invaluable to them throughout their lives.

Key Stage 3

When students arrive at Kingshill in year 7 they are taught a range of skills aimed at training them to be good historians. This includes examining artefacts, analysing different interpretations and understanding the significance of chronology. Year 7 students go on to learn about the Roman Empire and its legacy and life in Medieval Britain.

In year 8 students study Native American culture and life in Britain 1500-1750 including the Tudor and Stuart dynasties and the Civil War.

Year 9 starts with an in depth study of the Industrial Revolution including the slave trade. Students then go on to study both the First and Second World Wars with an emphasis on life in the trenches, the social impact on Britain of both wars and the Holocaust.

 

Key Stage 4

 

In year 10 students study a unit which examines medicine and public health in the United Kingdom from the Middle Ages through to the 21st century. This unit also takes in a great deal of social and political history. Year 10 Students also undertake the study of a historical environment. This aspect of the course changes every year but is always focused on the Elizabethan period. 

 

In year 11 the emphasis is on the 20th century. Students examine the inter-war period and look at the global social and political history of that time of great upheaval. In a complementary unit they look at Germany between 1890 and 1945. In this unit they investigate the problems faced by Germany leading to the rise of the Nazis. The course culminates in the study of life in Nazi Germany. This involves examining emotive issues such as totalitarianism and the holocaust.