History

"A generation that ignores history has no past and no future." Robert Heinlein  

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Curriculum Principles 

History, the study of the past, is all around us; we are continually making history through our thoughts, words and actions. History is personal and global; it is everyday life and momentous occasions. History is about people. Through our study of the past, we can understand how our own world works. We can also understand how and why things happen to us. For example, students may wonder why the ice caps are melting. The answer partially lies in history. The Industrial Revolution caused the birth of industrial towns and factories, belching out smoke and pollution. It also caused the mechanisation of society, adding to the pollution. Could this partially explain the pollution problems that we face today? History is not just about the past, for in the past lies the answers to our present and the keys to our future. 

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Curriculum Features  

Before designing our curriculum, we decided upon several principles that we would base everything upon. We aim:  

• To give our students a strong understanding of chronology so that they are aware of how long events occurred for and when.  

• For students to develop their skill in presenting arguments in a balanced way, both verbally and in writing.  

• For students to have many opportunities to form judgements based upon and referring to strong, relevant evidence.   

• To enable students to be able to understand and use extensive subject specific vocabulary.  

• To expose students to historical interpretations of the past and develop their critical skills.  

• To give our students the opportunity to study sources of evidence so that they can evaluate them.  

• To provide the opportunity for our students to take part in debate, and to develop their confidence and skill in debating.