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History

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Head of Department: Mr Trehy
Teachers: Mrs Appleyard, Mr Monro-Davies, Miss White 

The Burnham Grammar School History department has always encouraged high intellectual standards and a recognition that the skills needed for history can be developed over time and are not inherent to particular types of students. Writing and producing responses to questions or problems posed, is a process. Successful work is not completed in a single moment of genius or inspiration, but is developed over a series of steps and often learned skills. Above all else, history helps to train our minds to think in a complex, rational and logical manner.

History also places a particular stress on the development of independent thought and requires excellent communication skills, namely high levels of literacy and oral presentation. All students but especially in KS4 and KS5, will be expected to work independently to think for themselves and to engage in a good deal of wider reading and research. Students will often have to present the results of research both independently and in the wider context of class and group discussions.

There is also a fundamental need to come to terms with unfamiliar periods in history in a way that facilitates reflective and adaptable skills, including empathy and imaginative insight. Students need to be able to assess past events in a critical manner and not merely “tell the story”.

History at this school as a whole, offers various different approaches to learning, at different levels and in a wide range of subject areas. The Burnham Grammar School History department is unusual in offering a comparatively wide range of periods for study. Courses and topics vary from general overviews at one extreme such as the British Empire in Year 7, to in-depth studies at the other, such as the development of the United States into a Superpower from the 19th Century to the 20th Century in Year 12 & 13. The former encourages understanding of historical process, with its mix of continuity and change; the latter develops the analysis of documents and other material, developing research methods.

Please see our BGS Curriculum Maps for History and for Politics below : 

BGS History Curriculum Maps 

BGS Politics Curriculum Maps 

Please see information about KS3/KS4 and KS5 History at Burnham Grammar School below. 

KS3 History Curriculum

Year 8 students compete an in-depth study of the outbreak of World War I, trench warfare, the outbreak of World War II and the major events of that period, as well as a WWII home front magazine research module. They will also learn about the Atomic Bomb and the Holocaust. They will also learn about the United States in the 20th Century, with a particular focus on African American History and the fight for Civil Rights.

Year 7 students study the Medieval Realms course until the summer term. This covers various aspects of life in the Middle Ages and covers such events as the Norman Conquest, the Black Death, the Peasants revolt as well as religion and the Feudal System. At the beginning of the summer term, Year 7 will study the Industrial Revolution 1750 to 1900 as well as the development and impact of the British Empire, including the Slave trade.

KS4 History Curriculum

This three-year GCSE course will study Germany from 1890 to 1945, Elizabethan England from 1568 to 1603, the outbreak of World War II from 1918 to 1939 and a thematic British Study on Health and the People from 1000 to the present day. The Exam board is AQA and there are two exams, both of which are two hours in length.

KS5 History Curriculum

Course Description 

The A-level History Curriculum at BGS has been designed to help students understand the significance of historical events, the role of individuals in history and the nature of change over time. This AQA curriculum will help them to gain a deeper understanding of the past through political, social, economic and cultural perspectives Students must take assessments in all three of the following components in the same series:

  •  Component 1: Breadth Study
  •  Component 2: Depth Study
  •  Component 3: Historical Investigation (Personal study)

Students must:

  • Study the history of more than one country
  • Study a British history option for Component 1 or 2
  • Study a non-British history option for Component 1 or 2
  • Study topics from a chronological range of at least 200 years

At BGS we study the following:

The Making of A Superpower: The USA 1865-1975 (Breath Study)

The Breadth Study requires the study of an extended period and enables students to develop secure understanding of the process of change over time. The Breadth Study is introduced by six key questions which identify issues and perspectives which are central to the period of study. They emphasise that the study of breadth requires students to develop an understanding of:

  • The nature of causes and consequences, of change and continuity and of similarity and differences over a long period of time
  • The links between perspectives, such as political, economic, social or religious as well as appreciating developments relating to the perspectives separately over time
  • The role played by individuals, groups, ideas or ideology.

The English Revolution 1625-1660 (Depth Study)

  • The Depth Study is focused on a significant period of historical change or development.
  • Students will gain deep understanding of change and continuity through the study of the interrelationships of a variety of perspectives as indicated in the content. They will develop detailed knowledge and understanding of developments and the roles of individuals, groups, ideas and ideology.
  • Depth Studies also promote an understanding of the complexity of the historical process through a detailed focus on a specific period of change.
  • Content is presented chronologically in sections as is most appropriate to the period of study. An examination question may arise from one, or more than one, section of specified content. To demonstrate depth of historical knowledge and understanding, students should be able to make links and comparisons between the aspects of the period studied.

The NEA Component

  • Students will be required to identify an issue they wish to study from a topic area selected by BGS (the British Empire 1857-1967) and develop a question from this it, which will be the focus of the Historical Investigation.
  • To ensure that this represents a substantial study, the issue to be investigated has to be placed in the context of approximately 100 years.
  • It must not duplicate the content studied for Components 1 or 2.
  • Students may study a specific issue or development in depth, but this must be placed in the context of approximately 100 years, or a broader theme and/or development. Issues which relate to international, national or local developments are appropriate, as are investigations which adopt specific historical perspectives such as cultural, social or technological.
  • Through undertaking the Historical Investigation, students will develop an enhanced understanding of the nature and purpose of history as a discipline and how historians work. They will broaden their study of the past whilst having the opportunity to study a specific issue in great depth.
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