History
At Royal Liberty we believe that history is an important part of every student’s identity. We work hard to create a varied curriculum which meets the needs of our school community and we pride ourselves on staying at the forefront of new thinking in history education. Our Key Stage 3 curriculum is enquiry based with a 'Big Question' driving each of our units. Through these questions, we hope to help our students to understand Britain's place in the world, encourage an enquiring mind and help pupils to explore past societies and issues with curiosity and confidence. We use our three year Key Stage 4 to push our pupils beyond the exam board specification and develop fuller and richer understanding of the past.
We prepare students for not only future historical study at Key Stage 5 and beyond but also aim to shape them into critical thinkers with the skills to understand the world around them.
Key Stage Three
We pride ourselves on a modern, varied and exciting curriculum which is constantly evolving. We are fortunate to offer 5 hours of history a fortnight at Key Stage 3 and thus we are able to offer a rich and complex curriculum.
Each topic will include at least one 'Big Question' which helps us focus our learning and develop analysis skills. These sequences of lessons last between 3-10 lessons.
Examples of 'Big Questions':
Did the Normans really conquer England?
Why was Medieval Baghdad so brilliant?
Did the Black Death create a golden age for women?
What does the Akan drum reveal about the slave trade?
What was the most significant turning point of the American Civil War?
We are inspired by and include the work of historians and developments in current affairs throughout our modules to help prepare our students as citizens and thinkers.
Key Stage Four
Over the years of KS4 we will cover the following topics; Weimar and Nazi Germany, Early Elizabethan England, Migrants in Britain and Superpower Relations and the Cold War. Our exam board is Edexcel and our subject is entirely exam based (sat at the end of Year 11).
Paper One:
Migrants in Britain 800-present
This longer study helps pupils to understand topics over a much longer period. This course follows the story of the population of Britain from the Anglo-Saxons until today, looking at the groups which have migrated in this time. The course has a strong focus on culture, institutions, the built environment and the economy. Notting Hill in the c20th forms our historic environment study.
Paper Two:
Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91.
The superpowers unit gives GCSE pupils a well rounded introduction to the problems and conflict that faced the world after World War Two. The unit focuses on the development of conflict and the changing relationship between the United States and Soviet Russia.
Early Elizabethan England, 1558-88.
Early Elizabethan England focuses upon the first 30 years of Gloriana's reign. The module covers the problems that she faced and her attempts to settle these issues. We will study a wide variety of topics which include her religious settlement, the threat of Mary Queen of Scots, the Spanish Armada and Tudor lifestyles.
Paper Three:
Weimar and Nazi Germany,1918-39.
This unit covers the innovation and troubles of post WW1 Germany. It covers the disastrous events of 1923, the Golden Age of Germany and the rise of the Nazi party in the year before WW2.