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History

The AGS History curriculum is ambitious, diverse and purposefully sequenced. It is built both to develop an overview of the history of Britain, Europe and the wider world and to study in depth certain events turning points or people in history, such as the English Civil War or the Black Death. In addition to this, the AGS History curriculum will develop historical skills such as making inferences from historical sources, creating arguments and analysing historical interpretations.

Year 7: The Y7 curriculum picks up on what most pupils have studied at primary school. By the end ofYear 7 students will have knowledge and a chronological understanding of life before 1066, the medieval period and Tudor England. This includes a sense of how Britain influenced and was influenced by the wider world and the developments in Church, state and society.

Topics:

  • Pre 1066: What was Britain like before 1066?
  • The Norman Conquest
  • Castles
  • Medieval Britain 1066-1485 (Medieval kingship, ordinary life in the Middle Ages, The Black Death, The Peasant’s Revolt, The Silk Road)
  • The Tudors 1485-1603

Year 8: This year pupils will develop their chronological understanding of British history by studying Britain in the early modern and industrial period and they will also focus on the concept of revolution in different time periods, countries and contexts.

Topics:

  • Stuart England and Revolution, 1603-1702
  • The French Revolution
  • The Slave Trade
  • The British Empire
  • The Industrial Revolution
  • Campaigns for male suffrage

Year 9: This year focuses on the tumultuous 20th century. Pupils will start where they ended Year 8 by looking at the campaigns for female suffrage. They then analyse the causes of WW1 and then move chronologically on the causes and impact of WW2. There is also a depth study on The Holocaust. At the end of the year pupils will have an introduction to History GCSE with a study of Whitechapel and Jack the Ripper.

Topics:

  • Campaigns for female suffrage
  • Causes of WW1
  • WW1
  • The interwar years, 1918-1939
  • Causes of WW2
  • WW2
  • The Holocaust
  • Introduction to GCSE: Whitechapel, 1870-1900

GCSE:

Exam Board: Pearson Edexcel

Exam Specification: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/history-2016.html

Year 10

Paper 1 – Thematic Study and historic environment

Crime and punishment through time, c.1000-present

Themes throughout the topic: This is a thematic study that focuses on Britain over 1,000 years in reference to:

  • How definitions of crimes change over time
  • How law enforcement changes over time
  • How punishment, and the purpose of punishment changes over time

Topic List:

  • Medieval Period 1000-1500
  • Early Modern Britain 1500-1700
  • Industrial Britain 1700-1900
  • Modern Britain 1900-

Paper 2 – British Depth Study

Anglo Saxon and Norman England, c.1060-1088

Themes throughout the topic:

This is a depth study that focuses on a 30 year period in British history

Topic List:

  • Anglo-Saxon England 1060-1066
  • William I in power: securing the kingdom, 1066-1087
  • Norman England, 1066-1088

Year 11

Paper 3 – Modern Depth Study

Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939

Themes throughout the course:

  • This is a modern depth study at a pivotal point in German history, 1918-1939

Topic List:

  • Weimar Republic, 1918-1929
  • Hitler’s rise to power, 1919-1933
  • Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933-1939
  • Life in Nazi Germany, 1933-1939

Paper 2 – Period Study

The American West, c.1835- c.1895

Themes throughout the course:

  • This is a period study of American history. It focuses on the intertwined stories of Native Americans (Plains Indians) and White Settlers

Topic List:

  • The early settlement of the west, 1835-1862
  • Development of the Plains, 1862-1876
  • Conflicts and conquest, 1876-1895

A-Level

Exam Board: AQA

Exam Specification: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/history/as-and-a-level/history-7041-7042/specification-at-a-glance

Year 12:

1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603

  • This part of the course is about breadth.
  • Students will be looking at historical interpretations
  • It is over 100 years and students learn about political, social, economic changes over time.

Topic List:

  • Henry VII- consolidation of power, relationships at home and abroad
  • Henry VIII- Character, government and parliament, foreign relations

2N Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia, 1917-1953

  • This part of the course is about depth.
  • Students will be looking at sources
  • It is only over the space of 35 years but students learn about people, events, changes in a lot more detail.

Topic List:

  • Problems in Russia during WW1
  • The February Revolution 1917
  • Why the Provisional Government failed
  • Why/ how did the October Revolution begin?
  • The start of Communist Russia and the Civil War
  • Lenin’s death and the rise of Stalin

Coursework: NEA (Non Examined Assessment) 3,500 word essay about The Stuarts, 1604-1704

20% A level

Year 13:

1C The Tudors: England 1485-1603

Topic List:

  • Edward VI- his regency and relations with foreign powers
  • Mary I- Counter-Reformation
  • Elizabeth I– Was there a golden age?
  • English society and economy
  • Religious developments and changes

2N Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia, 1917-1953

Topic List:

  • Stalin’s political purges
  • Russia in WW2
  • Impact of Stalinism

Coursework: NEA (Non Examined Assessment) 3,500 word essay about The Stuarts, 1604-1704