Middle School History

Our aim in the department is to foster a love of learning about the past. This requires teachers to be flexible in their approach and responsive to the needs and interests of their students. History is also invaluable for developing a variety of important skills. We place emphasis on students developing their ability to explain events in the past in a clear and interesting way, and being able to use evidence to support this. We also emphasise debate, discussion and listening skills.

Our current course of study covers: -

Year 7: What is history? An enquiry into the history of King Alfred School. Britain 1066-1500: Who should be king; the Norman Conquest; medieval life; turning points in the Middle Ages; the development of castles 1066-1500. Islamic Empires: The development of Baghdad; the Crusades. Britain 1500-1603: In the name of God? Religious changes in the Tudor period. -

Year 8: Britain 1603-1900: The causes of the English Civil Wars; ‘King’ Cromwell; the Making of the UK. The French Revolution. African-American History. Introducing the British Empire. -

Year 9: The British Empire: The ‘rise and fall’ of the British in India. WW1: The trenches – a study of the reliability of historical sources. Germany in the 1920s and 1930s: The rise of Hitler and the Nazis. Civilians in wartime: The Holocaust; the Allied bombing of Germany and Japan. Turning points of WW2. With this approach we hope to lay the foundations for students who are better able to express themselves both in writing and verbally and are able to harness their historical imaginations. In addition we would hope the course of study encourages all students to start developing political awareness and to gain a sense of how events today have both roots and resonances in the past.

Assessment of work

Each term students undertake a major assessment based on what they have been studying. Teachers give detailed
comments and suggestions on how to improve the work and students also have to evaluate their own learning in a
variety of ways. Students keep these assessments in a folder that they carry with them from Year 7 to Year 9, helping
them to see their own progress. Students are encouraged to be pro-active in responding to comments made by their
teachers.

Homework

This is set weekly, unless for an assessment when several weeks are appropriate. Tasks vary from extended writing to research.

Equipment required

No special equipment is required except a good pen, a pencil and a ruler. An open mind and a willingness to listen to others and to join in discussion will help!

Parental involvement

We welcome the involvement of parents, particularly when they can share specialist knowledge with us and our students. Take a look at our pages on the KAS website and also our blog: www.kingalfredhistory.blogspot.com.

Further study

GCSE We follow the OCR History B (Modern World) syllabus. This comprises of: International Relations – the Cold War, 1945-1989; two Depth Studies (Britain 1906-1918 and China 1945-76); and two pieces of coursework on the historical origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
AS Level British foreign and imperial policy, 1945-90. The German Reformation, 1517-55.
A2 Level Russia and its rulers 1855-1964. Coursework: The war in Vietnam 1955-75.
A Level Government and Politics is also offered. We mainly study UK and USA politics.