Sandhurst School

Curriculum Aims

The vision of our History Department can be categorised into two distinct sections.

Firstly, we want our students to be as passionate and dedicated to History as we are. This happens through our broad and balanced curriculum and the learning activities conducted in each lesson. They are engaging with clear objectives and allow for students of all abilities to access the lesson and work to the best of their ability. This is also achieved through our offering of school visits, where we give the students a chance to understand historical concepts and content in a very real, tangible manner.

Secondly, we want our students to develop their historical skills in a way that will allow them to apply them to different contexts within school and in their life. Being able to discern truth, analyse interpretations of events, understand why people act in a certain manner or hold particular views on specific topics, use a range of ways to communicate ideas and create meaningful arguments based on clear evidence are all skills which are crucial to the study of History and equally important in the time period we live in.

KS3 Curriculum Summary

Year	Year 7	Year 8	Year 9
Topics studied	Ancient Egypt The Norman conquest Medieval society The Tudors The English civil war	The industrial revolution and women’s suffrage The British Empire The experience of African peoples – life in Africa to the present Russia: Tsars to revolution.	World War I The rise of the Nazi’s World War II

Assessment: In KS3, there will be formal assessments, which are divided into two sections (Section A and Section B), which will be a combination of knowledge-based questions and GCSE style questions. These assessments will occur throughout the year, as a part of most units.

KS4 Curriculum Summary

Exam board	Pearson Edexcel
Units studied	Warfare and British society, c 1250-present and London and the Second World War, 1939 – 1945. Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, 1060 – 1088. Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941 – 1991. The USA, 1954 – 1975: conflict at home and abroad.
GCSE paper breakdown	Paper 1: Warfare and British society, c 1250-present and London and the Second World War, 1939 – 1945. Paper 2: Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, 1060 – 1088 and superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941 – 1991 Paper 3: The USA, 1954 – 1975: conflict at home and abroad.

Assessment: In KS4, there will be a formal, in-class, GCSE style paper, approximately an hour in length, every half term. This will be completed by all students in the cohort and moderated by the teachers. Students will also sit, alongside their other subjects, PPEs, as dictated by the Senior Leadership Team.

KS5 Curriculum Summary

Exam board	Edexcel
Units studied	Germany and West Germany, 1918-1989 The rise and fall of fascism in Italy, c1911-1946 Britain: gaining and losing an empire, 1763-1914 Coursework unit on the Holocaust
A-level paper breakdown	Paper 1: Germany and West Germany, 1918-1989 Paper 2: The rise and fall of fascism in Italy, c1911-1946 Paper 3: Britain: gaining and losing an empire, 1763-1914 3000 – 4000 word essay based on the Holocaust.

Assessment: In KS5, there will be a formal, in-class, A-level style paper, approximately an hour in length, every half term. This will be completed by all students in the cohort and moderated by the teachers. Students will also sit, alongside their other subjects, PPEs, as dictated by the 6th Form Team.