History & Politics
Head of Department: Dr D. Stone
The future is dark, the present burdensome; only the past, dead and finished, bears contemplation. Those who look upon it have survived it: they are its product and its victors. No wonder, therefore, that men concern themselves with history.
G. R. Elton, The practice of history (1967)
The department is passionately committed to the belief that an understanding of history is a vital prerequisite to the life of an active citizen. No one can hope to develop an informed understanding of the world they live in without at least some knowledge of the past, and of how we got where we are. As a school, our mission statement is clear: we want to provide our students with the knowledge and skills to respond to a changing world with confidence and humility; and we want them to become reflective, open-minded and principled individuals who will make a positive contribution to their community and the wider world.
As teachers, we ardently believe in achieving these goals and this is reflected in the range of opportunities that students are provided with beyond the curriculum to learn about and engage with the wider world. It is, of course, also imperative that we teach the National Curriculum with passion and verve, both to inspire a sense of curiosity and wonder about past, present, and future and to ensure that our students have a solid bedrock of knowledge of our country’s history and that of the wider world.
The study of history is not simply an end in itself, but provides all students with a range of highly transferable skills (such as analysis, synthesis, communication and research) which helps to equip them to perform with distinction in a large number of academic and vocational contexts.
Programme of Study
At Key Stage 3, we are determined that our curriculum needs to be as representative as possible across the three years of study, to give our students a sound basis for their future historical studies if they elect to continue with the subject and, more importantly, to provide a clear basis for helping our students become reflective, open-minded and principled individuals.
Year 7
Students investigate how England came to be united under Saxon rule, and what the limits of this rule were in the British Isles. They study the development of medieval empires through the lens of the Norman Conquest and the development of the Angevin Empire. They go on to examine the role of religion in English society, culminating in a study of the English contribution to the Crusades, where students look at religious and racial prejudice and question the extent to which the Crusades were simply invasions.
The students also look at the concept of rights and how England developed politically in the middle ages, followed by a brief study of the Tudor period. This includes a study of local history, which focuses on the role of Devon mariners in the Spanish Armada and the creation of the slave trade.
Year 8
In Year 8, we continue the focus on diversity and right, building up to a detailed evaluation of the role of colonialism and empire in British history and the development of political rights. Students study the political evolution of Britain and paternalistic attitudes towards women during the industrial revolution and early stages of the twentieth century. They also learn about the changes Britain underwent in the industrial period, and what it was like to work in the most economically advanced country in the world. They examine British views of the French Revolution and consider the importance of this event in the evolution of Britain’s democracy in the nineteenth century.
Students spend a whole term studying the British Empire and the slave trade. We make links to their studies of Elizabethan mariners in Year 7, but then study the slave trade all the way through to the nineteenth century, highlighting key individuals of all ethnicities in the struggle for abolition. In preparation for their studies in Year 9, students then look at the crimes committed throughout the Empire, including during the Boer War and the suppression of India.
Year 9
After understanding the context of Empire in Year 8, students consider whether they think the twentieth century should be remembered as one primarily dominated by conflict. They explore the causes of the two world wars, their key events, the impact on British civilians, and compare measures taken to stop conflicts in their wake.
Students assess the role of the British Empire in these conflicts and how the Empire subsequently became the Commonwealth. They also investigate the Holocaust and other genocides and consider how and why genocide sometimes occurs during periods of warfare.
Students also examine the growth of new ideologies in Europe and their impact on the ability of different countries to cooperate. They are encouraged to come to conclusions about how far the nature of the Cold War differed from other conflicts. Finally, they investigate modern conflicts to identify common causes and outcomes, examining the role and limitations of the UN in peacekeeping today.
Years 10 and 11 (GCSE – AQA)
Pupils complete two written exams for GCSE. In Year 10, they focus on British history and study the place of Britain in the world. The AQA unit that we study is called ‘Migration, Empire and the People’, which addresses the significance of migration to and from Britain, covering a timescale from the Viking invasions to Brexit.
Within this unit of study, students build on their understanding of the slave trade and the way British governments advocated their imperialistic views. The unit also addresses the prejudices towards BAME citizens, including a study of the attitudes towards the Windrush Generation and the appalling Rivers of Blood speech by Enoch Powell. It also includes studies of key individuals in this period such as Olaudah Equiano, Mary Seacole and Bernie Grant, together with white individuals who played an active role in British imperialism such as Sir John Hawkins and Cecil Rhodes, giving the students the opportunity to address the issues surrounding the British Empire. This unit of study also allows us to address the growing rise in religious prejudices, in particular anti-Semitism, and the rise of far-right extremism, culminating in students looking at the murder of Jo Cox before the Europe Referendum.
The second aspect of the GCSE is a depth study of Elizabethan England. This unit covers the entirety of Elizabeth’s reign and examines in detail her religious, economic and foreign policy. Students learn about why the reign of Elizabeth is considered a ‘Golden Age’ with a key focus on the development of culture and architecture during this period. As part of this unit, students have the opportunity to complete a historical site visit in preparation for the exam. Previous sites we have studied include Hardwick Hall, the Globe Theatre, and Kenilworth Castle.
In Year 11, the focus switches to modern history and students again study two aspects. First, students study Germany from 1890 to 1945, considering how Germany developed after unification, its involvement in World War One, and the resulting collapse of the new Weimar democracy. The study then looks at the rise of the Nazi Party and its maintenance of power, including the role of propaganda and terror. The second aspect to be studied is ‘Conflict and Tension in Asia, 1950-1975’, in which students study the Korean and Vietnam Wars and their impact on the social and political climate at that time. This unit is particularly popular as it draws upon students’ studies of the Cold War in Year 9 and leads to numerous political discussions based on current international relations between the US and countries such as China and Russia.
Sixth-Form History (A Level – AQA – & IB)
At A Level, students have the opportunity to study two key periods in history over the two years, following the AQA specification. Building on previous years, they study the background to and entirety of the Tudor period from 1485 to 1603 and the Cold War from 1945 to 1991. At the end of Year 13, students then sit an exam on each of the two periods. Students also study one of a range of exciting coursework options from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries as part of their non-examined historical enquiry. Each option covers a period of approximately 100 years, with students writing a 4,000-word essay on their chosen option. A Level students may also, if they wish, study Ancient History to AS level, an OCR course that covers Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
At IB, students cover a wide range of history. Students study the causes, effects and practices of global war in the twentieth century and compare the development of different authoritarian states, specifically the USSR, China, Germany, and Italy. Those that are completing the standard level course sit two exams on these topics. Higher level students sit a third exam in addition to these two. This third exam covers three topics: imperial Russia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; the causes of the First World War; and inter-war domestic and diplomatic developments. All students also complete a brief internal assessment on a historical topic of their own choosing.
Sixth-Form Global Politics (IB)
The IB Global Politics course draws on a variety of disciplinary traditions in the study of politics and international relations, and more broadly on the social sciences and humanities. Students build their knowledge and understanding of the local, national, international and global dimensions of political activity and processes by critically engaging with contemporary political issues and challenges. The common standard level and higher level syllabus is framed around four interconnected components, the global politics core topics, which are linked to the nature of the subject and its key concepts, and three thematic studies: rights and justice, peace and conflict, and development and sustainability. At higher level, in addition, students sit a stimulus-based paper linked to extension inquiries about global political challenges. One of the most meaningful pieces of the Global Politics course is the engagement project, during which students identify and explore a political issue that is of personal interest to them.
History & Politics Society
Students across the different key stages have the opportunity to get involved in two societies that meet every week. In the Politics Society we have been very fortunate to have heard from outside speakers such as Kevin Foster MP, Ben Bradshaw MP, Councillor Swithin Long, and Ann Widdecombe. In the History Society, students have enjoyed a variety of events, including creating Anglo-Saxon goblets out of cow horns and building Roman shields as well as a series of talks. Both societies have also organised trips, which have included exploring Dartmoor’s medieval landscape and visiting the British Museum and the Houses of Parliament in London. We are also planning, in the near future, to undertake some archaeological test-pitting.
Extra-Curricular Activities
As this suggests, we consider it very important that students have the opportunity to experience history outside of the classroom. Indeed, the department runs numerous other trips across the academic year. These have included: visits to Okehampton Castle, Buckland Abbey, and Montecute House to look at medieval and Elizabethan sites; the Battlefields trip, where students visit key First World War battlefields; and the annual Year 7 trip to Normandy. For the latter, we visit the D-Day beaches and museums and give the students the opportunity to contextualise and extend their knowledge of, for example, monastic life at Mont St Michel, William the Conqueror, and the Bayeux Tapestry. Future plans include offering a trip for GCSE and sixth-form historians to Italy, to explore sites and artefacts from a range of periods, from Ancient Rome to the Renaissance, to Mussolini’s exuberant plans for a greater Italy.
Useful Links
Probably the best site for students is Active History (students have the login details to access the site), which has loads of information, resources and links. Also superb for information is the Spartacus site which covers almost any subject you could be interested in. The BBC has a lot of useful information on its history site and on the BBC History Magazine site as well.
