History

‘A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree with no roots’- Marcus Garvey

Purpose of study 

Our high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world (and how to place events within a timeline). It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past and how people used to live. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence with reference to primary and secondary sources, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives over time, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity, why the world exists as it does and the challenges of their time and how their impact is felt today. 

Aims

Our curriculum aims to ensure that all pupils: 

• Know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present day: how people’s lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced, and been influenced by, the wider world 
• Know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind 
• Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses 
• Understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed 
• Gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales.