History
History is a successful subject at GCSE and A Level and we have many students who go on to read History at university level. From Year 7 we aim to create a culture of historical enquiry amongst students as they identify significant events, make connections, draw contrasts and analyse trends within periods and over long arcs of time. Our lessons aim to give every student the skills to use historical terms and concepts in increasingly sophisticated ways.
The History department staff are passionate believers that history must be experienced outside of the classroom and to that end, we ensure that every year group has the opportunity to participate in a visit that will expand and add to their learning. For example, Y7 students visit a Medieval village and castle to complement their work on Medieval Britain. Y8 students visit the London Dungeon to add to their knowledge of Victorian Britain. Y9 students are offered the opportunity of a residential visit to London to visit the Imperial War Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms to extend their understanding of the role of WW1 and WW2 in developing globalisation. GCSE and A Level students are offered opportunities connected to the AQA syllabus such as a visit to the Battle of Hastings site.
We encourage all students to read, watch and enjoy history by promoting the use of TV, film, podcasts, magazines and websites to support their learning.
History Staff
| Mrs S Foster | Head of Humanities and History |
| Mr C Burrows | |
| Mrs F Lovecy | |
| Mr A Nockton |
KS3
The Key Stage Three History Curriculum at Pershore is an important and challenging phase of students’ learning. It is designed to be ambitious, enjoyable and knowledge rich; sparking students’ curiosity and passion for learning about the past. The overarching intention is that students become articulate and knowledgeable historians. We follow a largely chronological curriculum that also offers depth studies and thematic studies.
Students are expected to write, speak and adopt the habits of historians; for example in making substantiated judgements, to be enquiring when faced with sources of evidence and using academic vocabulary confidently. Each unit is framed by an overarching enquiry question and lessons are sequenced and designed to ensure pupils make progress by acquiring the knowledge needed to answer that question effectively as a means of assessment.
KS3 is viewed as a process of acquiring the knowledge, skills and habits of an expert historian. By the end of Key Stage Three we expect students to understand the significance of studying history, its relevance for understanding the world today and its importance in key areas such as developing tolerance, respect and understanding towards others.
KS4
The History curriculum is designed to ensure students develop the crucial subject-specific knowledge and disciplinary understanding, needed to succeed at Key Stage 4 and beyond, by building upon KS3 content and recurring concepts. For example, thoughts on democracy and limitations to freedom are developed in the Asia 1950 - 1975 and Germany 1890 - 1945 units.
We aim to embed critical knowledge and skills and provide opportunities for students to understand the discipline’s second-order concepts such as continuity, change, cause, consequence, significance, similarity and difference in greater depth. We offer AQA GCSE studying the two modern world units mentioned above, a depth study into Norman England c1066 to 1100 and a thematic study of Britain: Health and the People which looks at an overview of the development of medicine from the Ancient Greeks to the NHS. Students are taught by subject specialists.
KS5
A Level History at Pershore High School offers students the chance to broaden their historical understanding by re-introducing topics that have been touched upon during KS3 and KS4 but can now be explored in greater depth. We offer the AQA A Level (7042) looking at the Crusades 1071 - 1204, the Making of Modern Britain, 1945 to 2007 and Russia 1855 to 1956.
History is a highly valued academic subject at A Level and the department supports students with applications and entry tests for Oxford and Cambridge as well as students who wish to study Law and other literary based options at university.