The History Department works to develop the skills and understanding of pupils across a range of historical periods and locations. The course is devised to give a sound understanding of the history of the United Kingdom, both individually and within a global context. It also covers the domestic history of several other nations and the key international developments of the Twentieth century.

The concentration here is on the development of a sound core understanding of British history along with the key events of the Twentieth century. The British history studied is often done so in the context of wider, international developments. The aim is also to develop important skills, such as essay writing and document analysis, that the pupils can deploy in the future and also in other subjects. In Year 7 the pupils study a survey of British history from 1066 to 1485 and supplement this with a detailed investigation of the Crusades. In Year 8 the British survey is continued, looking at the period from 1485 through until 1688, increasingly considering themes such as religion and political development. The year is finished with an investigation of key events in British history during the Nineteenth century. In Year 9 the course broadens significantly to look at broader international affairs. The pupils will study four key topics; the First World War, the Peace Treaties, Hitler and the Nazis, and the Middle East - 1945 to the present. Thus by the end of three years of compulsory study, all pupils should have a strong grasp of British history along with an understanding of how international affairs have developed during the Twentieth century.

 

Ryde School follows the Edexcel Modern World History specification, focusing largely on Twentieth century history, whilst drawing on much of the knowledge gained by the pupils during Years 7 - 9. The Edexcel course follows two outline studies: The Cold War 1945-1991 and America 1941-1980, and two in-depth studies; the USA 1919 - 1941 and a coursework element on Society and Crime in Victorian England.  The course allows the pupils to   further their study of international affairs, politics, economic, military and social history. The skills required and developed include document analysis, extended writing skills and the deployment of accurately gathered and recalled evidence.

 

The main aim of the course is to develop the skills acquired by students during their GCSE course and introduce them to a wider range of historical subjects and more developed concepts about the nature of history and historiography. There are three units at both AS and A2 level, taken from the OCR specification. At AS level, students investigate the causes of the American Civil War and British History, 1793 - 1841. The A2 course involves a broad study of Russian history between 1853 and 1953, including an in-depth study of the role Peter the Great, as a coursework element.

 

History is a subject that allows students to develop a range of cross-curricular skills, and many students find that they develop transferable skills as a result of their historical studies, especially at examination level. There is a considerable degree of convergence between History and Politics, as many of the concepts involved are similar, even if the topics covered are very different.  The Department arranges a series of visits outside of normal school hours, the most significant of whcih have been two seven day visits to the USA.  We have recently visited Paris and the World War 1 battlefields and will be spending a week in Germany and the Czeck Republic next February.