History
Only the person who has questions can have real understanding. Examples of essential disciplinary questions that are vital to History at Blanchelande are:
Can historians ever know for certain what happened in the past? How do we decide which evidence to trust?
Do the victors really write history?
Do we learn from history or are we doomed to repeat past mistakes?
How can the international response to modern conflict be informed by our historical understanding of war?
Is it important for good citizens to be historically literate?
Are the lessons we learn from different historical time periods equally important?
Our Year 7-9 History course aims to equip students in the art of historical enquiry, firing their interest in our collective past and preparing them for GCSE and A-Level history.
Year 7 (1066-1485)
The Year 7 course covers some of the most fascinating and foundational centuries in British history. Beginning in 1066 in the reign of St Edward the Confessor, Year 7 students explore the transformation of English society following the Norman Conquest. They study the development of the English crown, and evaluate the successes and failures of the Norman and Plantagenet monarchs, as well as the life of everyday medieval people and the role of the Church in society. Students complete the year with a panorama of medieval English history, including the Crusades, the Black Death, the Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses, ending with the death of King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Year 8 (1485-1750)
The Year 8 course continues chronologically from Year 7, taking students from the medieval period into the Renaissance, the formation of the United Kingdom (with the accession of James VI of Scotland as James I of England) and the building of modern Britain. Moving beyond narrative history, students begin to grapple with more advanced historical concepts such as continuity and change in the context of the Tudors and Stuarts. Students study the Reformation in depth, gaining a strong sense of the dramatic changes wrought by Henry VIII’s split with the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s. Students continue to study the impact of royal self-interest at home and abroad during the reign of Elizabeth I. The supposed ‘Golden Age’ of Elizabethan stability (now subject to much historical revisionism) is contrasted with the turbulence of the Stuart monarchy, particularly during the English Civil War. The course finishes with the ‘Glorious Revolution’ and later Jacobite Rebellions.
Year 9 (1750-1950)
The Year 9 Course finishes off our chronological journey through the centuries from the medieval to the foundations of the modern world. We look at the important developments which shaped our world: the British Empire, slavery, the Industrial Revolution, Nationalism, the First World War, The Treaty of Versailles, the growth of Democracy and of Fascism and Communism, World War Two and the origins of the Cold War. Students also start to grapple with more sophisticated Historical skills – using sources more thoroughly and critically and becoming aware of Historical debate and Interpretation, laying foundations for further study at GCSE and better engagement with the world around.
GCSE History
How and why do societies change? How do leaders exercise power? How have technology, religion and war shaped history? Studying questions such as these stimulates students’ curiosity about the world; studying past cultures and events gives them an anchor to understand how the present came to be, and how to navigate the future. In short, History trains the mind in analysis, evaluation and discussion. Course specification (Edexcel) British Thematic Study with Historical Environment Medicine in Britain, 1250 to the present day, with Surgery and Treatment on the Western Front 1914 – 1918
- Paper 1: Part A is source based and Part B is extended written answers (30% of final grade) British Depth and Period Study Henry VIII and his Ministers, 1509–40 AND Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91
- Paper 2: Two parts (both short and extended written answers); (20% each of final grade) Modern Depth Study Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-39 Modern Depth Study
- Paper 3: Source based questions (30% of final grade)
A level History
We aim that the course should enable, enrich and enlighten – by studying the political, economic, and cultural history of Britain in the Twentieth Century, and American History at a formative time of change and protest we hope to enable our students to be able to engage with our current world and its issues in the Twenty First Century. We aim that they should have the context to enrich their understanding of the world they are living in. We also aim that they should develop the skills to evaluate and make judgements so they can think independently and hopefully make good choices and finish a little more enlightened.
Course Specification (Edexcel) We follow the 1H route: “Democracies in Change: Britain and the USA in the twentieth century.”
This comprises 4 main units:
- Paper 1: Britain Transformed, 1918-1997 (breadth Study with interpretations) Students study how Britain has developed and changed politically, socially and culturally between 1918 and 1979. They also look at the hugely debated subject of Margaret Thatcher’s governments and learn to understand and judge differing interpretations.
- Paper 2: The USA,1955-92 (conformity and challenge) Students study this transformative period of American History in depth, developing a detailed knowledge of figures such as Kennedy, Nixon and Martin Luther King and movements in American society driven by race, consumerism and civil activism.
- Paper 3: Rebellion and disorder under the Tudors, 1485-1603 Students study a contrasting period linked by similar themes of change and protest.
- Coursework: individual choice Students produce a 3000-4000word evaluative essay on an area of historical debate of their choice. Previous students have chosen topics ranging from the Viking invasions of Britain, the downfall of Mary Queen of Scots, the French Revolution and the American Civil War. They are taught a course on research and given guidance on reading and planning. Coursework provides a great opportunity to study an area of particular interest to the student as well as developing skills in research and academic study.