At Key Stage 3 the History department teaches a range of local, British, European and international History, ensuring that pupils have an understanding of the main trends and turning points in the last millennium. In Year 7, students study the period from 1066 to 1500 considering key features of Medieval Britain as well as the Aztec Empire and local history. In Year 8, pupils study the period 1500-1750 looking at the Tudors and Stuarts, the Industrial Revolution, the British Empire and the Transatlantic slave trade, including Cumbria’s connections to it. The focus of the Year 9 course is the twentieth-century world and pupils learn about the campaign for women’s suffrage, the First World War, the inter war years including the rise of the dictators, life in Nazi Germany and the causes, events and impact of the Second World War. Additionally, pupils study the Holocaust and the origins of the Cold War in preparation for the GCSE course. The History curriculum encourages pupils to develop their understanding of cause and consequence, change and continuity, similarity and difference, significance as well as developing their skills of analysing and evaluating primary sources and historians’ interpretations.

History is a popular choice for students at both GCSE and A-level. At GCSE students follow the AQA syllabus. Examination topics covered include the USA 1920-1973, The Korean War and Vietnam War, Health and the People in Britain 1000-present and Norman England 1066-1100. At A Level we follow the OCR specification and students study Modern Russia 1894-1941, The Wars of the Roses and American Civil Rights 1865-1992. Every year we support the applications of students to study History at a range of universities, including Oxford and Cambridge.