We aim to develop, in students, a keen interest in the past. At Key Stage 3 knowledge is built though a study of some of the key events in the last 1000 years of British history, from the impact of the Normans in the 11th century through to WW2. Skills are taught alongside knowledge, with an emphasis on students becoming critical users of sources and confident debaters, with an ability to recognise there are often very different interpretations of events to consider. At GCSE the course is in International Relations between 1945 and 1989. This includes the Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis and the nuclear arms race. The depth study is America 1919-1945, whilst coursework is on life in Nazi Germany and the Battle of the Somme.
At AS the emphasis on political history continues and students study ‘Totalitarian Ideologies 1917-1945'. This involves a comparison of the Soviet Union under Lenin and then Stalin, Mussolini's Italy and the Nazi dictatorship in Germany. Students then study a contrasting period, ‘Britain 1959-75: A Social Revolution'. At A2 the course moves away from very modern history to a study of the Renaissance for coursework. The examined module at A2 is ‘Germany 1945-89', a study of a state split in two post-war. This course is complemented by cross-curricular trips.