the
History
Department Staff
| Miss H Chambers | Head of History |
|---|---|
| Mrs J Hadley | |
| Miss K Quinn | |
| Miss R Beardsmore | |
| Ms V Decker |
The Purpose of History
History is a popular subject at The Streetly Academy. We will teach your child a range of techniques so that s/he can make sense of the past. These include analytical skills, how to evaluate evidence as well as how to express his/herself in both spoken and written form. By mastering the discipline of historical thinking, we believe that your child will be better-equipped to question the past, to understand the present, and to shape the future.
The Benefits of History
History develops the skills of research, analysis and evaluation, combining them with the ability to form judgements about the past. These skills will not only benefit your child in their other subjects, but are also highly-regarded by university admissions tutors and employers. In addition to degrees in History and related disciplines, History can lead to a wide range of careers, including journalism, business, public service and education.
Key Stage 3
At Key Stage Three, your child will follow a broadly chronological course, covering aspects of local, British and world history from 1066 to the present day. S/he will not only learn about the developments, events and individuals that have shaped the modern world, but also learn how to analyse causes, evaluate evidence and write to a high standard.
In Year 7, our new students explore the Middle Ages, including British and world history from 1066 to 1500. Familiar topics such as the Battle of Hastings and the Black Death sit alongside the life of medieval peasants and the story of Joan of Arc. We complete our year by studying the Native Indians of North America, asking why Indians and white settlers came into conflict with one another.
Year 8 sees our young historians examine the political and religious changes that Britain experienced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the summer term, we turn our attention to the revolutionary events in France from 1789 onwards, comparing the shifting balance of power between rulers and their people.
Our Year 9 students experience a rich and varied diet of modern history, including Britain during the Industrial Revolution and twentieth-century world wars. Our choice of topics ranges from the importance of railways to the Victorians and the Suffragettes' fight for voting rights to the accuracy of historical feature films and the enduring significance of the Holocaust.
Key Stage 4
GCSE History builds on the foundation of Key Stage 3, and is consistently one of the most popular GCSE Options subjects in the school. Our existing GCSE students are following the new AQA syllabus, which combines aspects of international relations and modern American history with a breadth study of health over time in Britain and a depth study of the reign of Elizabeth I. Whilst Controlled Assessment is disappearing, we will be studying a historic site: our site for examination in summer 2018 is Hardwick Hall, a Tudor country house in Derbyshire.
Key Stage 5
History at the Streetly Academy
At A Level we study both British and Russian history, both of which are assessed in exams at the end of the A level course; with the introduction of a new Russian unit for those Year 12 students starting in 2021. We study Russia between 1855 and 1964 and Britain between 1906 and 1957. Each unit features a thought-provoking blend of political, economic and social history, and highlights key turning points in recent Russian and British history. In addition, students are able to choose their own topic for an individually-researched Historical Enquiry. With regular tutoring and outstanding resources, students can explore topics well beyond the confines of our taught units, and prepare themselves for independent study at university. Academic engagement, innovative teaching and consistently high standards have made History one of the top-performing subjects in the 6th Form in recent years.
the