History

Intent:

The aim of the History department at the Rodillian Academy is to instil and foster a lifelong love of History through our provision of excellent educational experiences.

By studying History, we intend for students to gain the cultural capital required to better understand the world around them and to take advantage of future opportunities. Students gain this through a knowledge-rich curriculum, focused on an understanding of the major events and turning points that have created the current global context, whilst also developing students’ critical thinking skills in order to analyse and evaluate sources of information.

We believe diversity and inclusivity is essential in the study of History, and we have designed a curriculum that has both range and depth. We continue to adapt our curriculum so that it evolves in order to ensure that students can understand the relevance of History to them. We also develop the key historical transferable skills, such as critically engaging with a variety of primary sources, that allow students to prosper across school and later life no matter what profession they wish to pursue.

Some of the key topics we study in each year can be seen below:

• In Year 7 students develop a chronological framework, primarily through the study of key events in Medieval British History and through a study of the Tudors.
• In Year 8 students study the themes of Power and Conflict, Migration and ‘The Burning Planet’ as part of the ‘Contextual Curriculum.’ This includes a study of how the British Empire, the Industrial Revolution and 19^th Century Protest movements have impacted our world today.
• In Year 9 Study key events in the 20^th Century such as The First and Second World Wars, The Holocaust, The Cold War and the US Civil Rights Movement. Students also also study Ancient Civilisations including the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.
• At Key Stage 4 students study the topics Germany 1890-1945, The First World War, Health and the People and the Norman Conquest as part of the AQA specification.
• At Key Stage 5 students study The Early Tudors, Russia 1894-1941 and Civil Rights in the USA 1865-1992 and conduct their own research for a coursework option as part of the OCR specification.