History

Overview

West Lakes Academy’s history department aims to ensure that all students at the school develop skills of critical thinking, incisive analysis, effective oral and written argument, the ability to infer and much, much more.  History is not just a dry series of dates and events (though they do matter).  It is an ongoing process of investigation, analysis, selection, debate and writing.  It is this process which inspires inquisitive, challenging and analytical minds to pursue the subject at GCSE, A Level and beyond. History at WLA deals with change over time in a broad political, social, economic and cultural context. By the end of their studies students should have developed a life-long interest in history, an independence of thought and a strong belief in the importance of human rights and tolerance of other interpretations and perspectives.

Key Stage 3

Year 7

The focus in Year 7 is to ignite a love of History through a broad and relevant curriculum that carefully balances the acquisition of knowledge to combat ignorance, the development of purposeful skills and understanding of historical second order concepts.

Topics Studied:
• The Roman Empire and Roman Britain
• Ruling England, the Monarchy
• Going Abroad, the British Empire
• Coming to Britain, Immigration
• Living Britain, the Industrial Revolution

Year 8

Following an inspirational Year 7, students will continue to develop their knowledge and skills in Year 8 through exploration of a wide range of History Depth studies. These depth studies will allow the students to expand their understanding of some of the major life changing events of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Furthermore, the students will be encouraged to empathise with those individuals who experienced such change.

Topics Studied:
• The French Revolution
• The Native Americans
• Marketing History, WWI
• Making History, WWII

Year 9:

The focus in Year 9 is to develop the students’ ability to make connections between topics and key events. Furthermore, the students are to practice and learn the most suitable methods of compression so that they are able to make purposeful and relevant deductions from the content.

Topics Studied:
• The Holocaust
• The USA in the 1920’s and 1930’s
• Civil Rights to Slavery (the journey to Obama)
• Medicine in the Middle Ages.

Key Stage 4

Students begin their study of the Pearson (Edexcel) syllabus. The four units they will be exploring through years 9, 10 and 11 include:

A Modern Depth Study – Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39.

A Thematic Study and the Historic Environment – Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches.

A British Depth Study – Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88.

A Period Study – Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941–91.

Post 16

We offer students the option to study AS and A Level History in the academy’s sixth form.

Relevant Links

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