History gives students the opportunity to study historical events at a local, national and international level. As a result, students gain a greater understanding of the culture in which they live as well as the wider world around them. It helps students to develop an enquiring and critical outlook on world events. History helps students to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change throughout time, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups of people.  

How do we ensure academic rigour in our history curriculum?

•  Students studying our history curriculum develop a detailed understanding of five key concepts; using historical evidence, evaluating significance, analysing historical interpretations, explaining change and continuity as well as cause and consequence.
•  Students studying our history curriculum learn how to interpret a broad range of visual and written historical sources.
•  We strive to help students to engage directly with questions and present independent opinions about them in arguments that are well written, clearly expressed, coherently organised and effectively supported by relevant historical evidence.

How do we nurture and develop our students through our history curriculum?

• History enables students to ask probing questions, analyse information and convey their views in a methodical and structured way.
• History develops effective and independent learners as well as critical and reflective thinkers who seek explanations about the world around them.
•  The skills and knowledge gained by studying our history curriculum can be applied to almost any job or workplace.

How do we promote social action and courageous advocacy through our history curriculum?

• The history curriculum provides students with the opportunity to study significant issues in world history such as the transatlantic slave trade, the rise and fall of the British Empire, the Civil Rights Movement in the USA, and the ‘Windrush Generation’. Consequently, students can understand how historical events have resulted in some of the major challenges facing multicultural Britain today. 
• Our LGBTQ history, Black History and holocaust remembrance activities promote respect, diversity and tolerance of others.  
• The history curriculum provides a platform for students to appreciate the differences and similarities between people’s views of the world, its societies and cultures and helps them to understand how they can contribute to a better world.