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In the History Department at Parkside School, our teaching and learning philosophy is focused on four key areas:
- High expectations
- Progression
- Access for all
- Engagement
We have a strong tradition of active learning and student enjoyment in the History Department, and our teaching is based on the belief that every child can achieve above and beyond expectations. We have a very high take-up of History at GCSE and A-Level and run a range of successful extra-curricular activities.
Key Stage 3
At Key Stage 3 we follow the requirements of the National Curriculum, studying:
Year 7
- Medieval Realms
- The Roman Empire
- The Native Americans
Year 8
- Tudor and Stuart Britain
- Industrial Revolution
- Black Peoples of America
Year 9
- Twentieth Century World
- Life in 1920s America
Key Stage 4
Why choose History at GCSE?
- History is all about people - if you like learning about people you’ll like history!
- History helps you understand the world in which we live.
- History makes you think in new ways.
- History helps you to change the world!
Employers like History because of the skills you learn such as:
- How to think critically
- How to ask questions
- How to weigh up different points of view
- How to communicate your ideas
- How to reach a judgement
- People who study History have a wide range of careers, from lawyers to architects.
The History GCSE course at Parkside is varied, interesting and challenging, and is one of the most popular options here. Its content is totally new to the students, but it also enables them to build on their skills and knowledge from Key Stage 3.
We study four main topics over Years 10 and 11:
Examination (75% of the final mark)
- A Study in Development: Medicine and Public Health Through Time (37.5%)
- Focusing on changes in causes and cures for disease, surgery and public health from Prehistoric times to modern day
- A Study in Depth: Germany 1919-1945 (37.5%)
- Focusing on the problems of the inter-war years in Weimar Germany, Hitler’s rise to power and life in Nazi Germany
Coursework (25% of the final mark)
- Modern World Study: Conflict in Northern Ireland
- Focusing on the causes and consequences of the Troubles in Northern Ireland
- How and why has the IRA changed its tactics after 1968?
- Whose view of Bloody Sunday is most trustworthy: Widgery, McGovern or Saville?
Local History Study: Saltaire
Focusing on the aims of Titus Salt and the lives of Saltaire’s inhabitants
Has Saltaire changed for the better?
Titus Salt: Businessman or Philanthoprist?
Key Stage 5
At Key Stage 5 History continues to be a very popular option. History is welcomed by universities as a sound academic subject, and is respected by employers in a wide range of professions, from law and accountancy to museums and art galleries. We study the following topics, using the exam board OCR:
Year 12
Document Study: Mid Tudor Crisis
Period Study: Church and State: England 1529-1558
Period Study: Russia 1894-1917
Year 13
Document Study: Lenin and the Establishment of Bolshevik Power 1903-1917
Period Study: Civil Rights in the USA 1865-1980
Personal Study (coursework): Individual student choice
Extra-curricular Activities
Trips
2006 Berlin Trip
Every year we go on an overseas History trip designed to enhance study at Key Stage 4 and 5. Last year a group of 30 Parkside students from Year 9 and above travelled to Berlin for four days, where our visits included: the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, Potsdammer Platz, the Jewish Memorial, a Cold War nuclear bunker, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and Kurfurstendamm to sample German culture. In July 2007 we are taking 44 Parkside students on a five-day trip to Krakow, focusing on the Holocaust.
History Club
A weekly History Club open to all Parkside students is run at lunchtimes by A-level History students, focusing on topics of the students’ choice, encouraging in-depth study of people and events, opportunities for independent research and active learning.
Warhammer Club
Warhammer is a game of planning, strategy and interaction. We run a twice weekly club open to all Parkside students, where students work together to paint model armies, create battle landscapes and re-enact battles in teams, following the complex Warhammer rules.
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