History

History - Curriculum Statement of Intent

The aim for our History curriculum is that learners will develop a passion for History in the same way that the teachers of it have.  Students of History learn compassion, understanding, empathy and an ability to learn from the past.  Alongside these life skills they also learn more academic ones – using evidence to support an argument, considering different views and understanding causation, for example.

In order for students to make connections to things in the past, so that different aspects of the past don’t seem abstract, we have taken a thematic approach to Key Stage 3.  Each Year of Key Stage 3  follows a particular theme to enable pupils to see, for example, how religion has played such an important role in the past.  Whilst content driven, each of the second order concepts, such as significance and causation, needed to be a successful historian, are embedded in these lessons.  We have also ensured that our pupils get as wide a History education as possible.  In line with the National Curriculum, we cover British, European and World History.  As a diverse London school,  it is important that pupils learn about the History of other continents and cultures.  Therefore, as well as learning about key parts of British and European History such as the Tudors, the Industrial Revolution and the World Wars, they will also learn topics such as the Crusades and the impact of the British Empire on the colonised countries. This will equip students not only with an understanding of their own past, but with an understanding of the multi-cultural places in which they live.  The National Curriculum’s local History study provides an exciting opportunity for students to learn more about the past of the place in which they currently live. We have adopted our philosophy in Key Stage 5 as well, where our two examined units are a British course and a course studying the Crusades, which again provides cultural capital about different cultures and societies.  We have changed one of our options at Key Stage 4 to look at the Cold War instead of the interwar period in Europe, thus including History from Eastern Europe which is rarely covered, as well as that of the USA and the Far East.  At all key stages, the passion and particular expertise of the teachers was the starting point of the design, in order that they can deliver their absolute best teaching in every lesson. 

Students are at the centre of everything we do and sharing good practice and planning lessons together is a key feature of the department.  Through our curriculum design, we will inspire our students to be enthusiastic, inquisitive and resilient life-long learners.  We teach History in a range of exciting ways so that pupils can be true historians.  We look at and interpret primary sources, consider different historians’ views, work independently and as part of groups and create exhibitions of our work.  Moreover, students will be well-rounded citizens of the local, national and global communities, growing in self-esteem and confidence through their mastery of the subject.  It is an inclusive curriculum with which all learners can engage as History is a multi-faceted discipline in which all leaners can engage.

Above all else, all students should receive the best learning experience possible in every History lesson.  We want our students’ understanding of the past to have direct, positive and meaningful impact on their life today.

At Key Stage 3, students study the following:

At Key Stage 4, you can read about the courses on offer in our Options Booklet

2023 Year 9 Options Booklet

At Key Stage 5, you can read about the courses on offer in our Sixth Form Prospectus

For more detailed information about the History curriculum, please email the subject leader Ms N Weinfass at n.weinfass@ecaterham.net