We offer an engineered and meticulously crafted curriculum.  Bespoke to our pupils in teaching them the knowledge that we, as a team of historians, believe that they need to know.  Building and going beyond the National Curriculum we offer our pupils a curriculum that is both steeped in the finest traditions and modern thought of what outstanding history teaching and lessons look like whilst being rooted and centred around current historical scholarship and debate.

Our curriculum covers British, European and World History.  It is both thematic and depth in its approach depending on the best pedagogical way of delivering our core substantive and disciplinary knowledge.  We understand that the best way to deliver history is through enquiry.  Therefore we have carefully thought about what our enquiry questions should be so that our pupils are talking and debating about the same things as historians do.  From those enquiries we have selected the core and hinterland knowledge needed for pupils to be able to engage in those debates.  We have structured the enquiries across both Key Stage 3 and 4 so that key first order concepts such as power and communism are built upon when they are revisited.  Each lesson is clear in which core knowledge is needed to be built upon as, just like an oil painting, we look to add more depth and texture to their understanding and view of the past.

In addition to the plan for progression we have built an assessment structure that is seamlessly woven throughout the curriculum.  We continually check for understanding in lessons and at strategic points throughout our curriculum.  Our pupils have and can recall rich historical knowledge.  More than that our assessment practice looks to develop their ability to express this knowledge in a historical way through second order concepts.  We spend time in our curriculum teaching our pupils to do this that is age and stage appropriate.  We want them to Think Like Historians.  This is then assessed formally at three strategic points in our calendar year.  Recently our assessment practice has been highlighted by Christine Counsell in her article “Laughing muppets, lost memories and lethal mutations: rescuing assessment from ‘knowledge-rich gone wrong” as a strong example for other departments across the country to follow.

Our curriculum is challenging.  It challenges our pupils with the richness of knowledge it possesses and in the enquiries it presents.  In addition it challenges them to view the world through many different lenses.  We know that the study of history is crucial to our pupils’ outlook on the world and their development as people.  Ultimately we present the world as it is, imperfect.  We challenge our students to take the lessons of the past to create a more perfect world in the future.