History

At Barnhill students learn powerful knowledge about the past. Our diverse curriculum, spanning the Roman invasion of Britain to modern multiculturalism, reflects our school’s community and highlights enduring themes of the human condition such as empire and migration. This is underpinned by an education in the disciplinary knowledge of history. Students learn to generalise appropriately, to use precedents to provide explanatory power to argument, while gaining familiarity with the common terms of reference required to challenge other viewpoints. These efforts are sustained by the department’s staff. Each is committed to advancing their historical understanding, and teaching practice, to ensure every student learns. This combination helps students achieve the highest of outcomes and a broad, diversified, knowledge of the past. Perhaps more importantly, it supports their growth as empathetic, conscious, and active citizens who flourish in their communities and society.   

Click here to see the staff members in our History department.

KS3	Year 7	Year 8	Year 9
Autumn        1	How has London changed over time? Why has Alfred been called ‘Alfred the Great’?	How did the Mughal Empire in India rise and fall?  How far did the Transatlantic Slave Trade dehumanise enslaved Africans?	What was the turning point of the allies winning the Second World War? How and why could the Holocaust happen?
Autumn        2	What was the main consequence of the Norman Conquest?  What was so special about the medieval Islamic World?	How did the Industrial Revolution affect living conditions? Who was allowed to vote by 1900?	Can the dropping of the atomic bombs be justified?
Spring 1	Were the Crusades really about religion? What was the impact of Henry VIII's break from Rome?	How different was the British Empire in Australia and India? Did tensions over Africa make a European war more likely?	Would a One or Two-state solution be a better outcome for Palesitians and Israelis?
Spring 2	What really drove the witch craze in 17th century England? How did early modern England open up to the world?	How far did one bullet spark the First World War? What was the turning point of the allies winning the Second World War?	Why was India partitioned and what impact did it have? Revision
Summer 1	Revision End of Year Assessment	Revision End of Year Assessment	End of Year Assessment Equality in 20th and 21st century Britain
Summer 2

 Edexcel GCSE History

KS4	Year 10	Year 11
Autumn 1	Migrants in Britain: Migrants in medieval England, c800-c.1500 Migrants in Britain: Migrants in early modern England, c.1500-c.1700	Migrants in Britain: Migrants in medieval England, c800-c.1500 Migrants in Britain: Migrants in early modern England, c.1500-c.1700
Autumn 2	Migrants in Britain: Migrants in 18th and 19th century Britain, c.1700-c.1900 Migrants in Britain: Migrants in modern Britain, c1900 to present day	Migrants in Britain: Migrants in 18th and 19th century Britain, c.1700-c.1900 Migrants in Britain: Migrants in modern Britain, c1900 to present day
Spring 1	Historic Environment: Notting Hill, c.1948-c.1970 The American West, Unit 1: The early settlement of the West, c1835–c1862	Historic Environment: Notting Hill, c.1948-c.1970 The American West, Unit 1: The early settlement of the West, c1835–c1862
Spring 2	The American West, Unit 1: The early settlement of the West, c1835–c1862 The American West, Unit 2: Development of the plains, c1862–c1876	The American West, Unit 1: The early settlement of the West, c1835–c1862 The American West, Unit 2: Development of the plains, c1862–c1876
Summer 1	The American West, Unit 2: Development of the plains, c1862–c1876 The American West, Unit 3: Conflicts and conquest, c1876–c1895	The American West, Unit 2: Development of the plains, c1862–c1876 The American West, Unit 3: Conflicts and conquest, c1876–c1895
Summer 2	The American West, Unit 3: Conflicts and conquest, c1876–c1895 Weimar and Nazi Germany Unit 1: Weimar Republic	The American West, Unit 3: Conflicts and conquest, c1876–c1895

 

Year 12
Paper 1 Britain	Unit 1: Quest for political stability 1625-60	Unit 1: Quest for political stability 1660-88	Unit 2: Religion, conflict and dissent	Unit 2: Religion, conflict and dissent	Unit 3: Social and intellectual change
Paper 2 Russia	Unit 1: The Rule of Nicholas II 1894-1905	Unit 2: The End of Romanov Rule 1906-14	Unit 3: Provisional government and its opponents February-October 1917	Unit 4: Defending the Bolshevik Revolution	Coursework
Paper 3 USA	Aspects in breadth: The changing geography of civil rights issues	Aspects in breadth: The changing geography of civil rights issues	Aspects in depth: 'Free at last', 1865-77	Aspects in depth: The triumph of 'Jim Crow', 1883-c1900	Aspects in depth: The New Deal and race relations, 1933-41

 

Year 13
Paper 1 Britain	Unit 5: How revolutionary, in the years to 1701, was the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89?	Unit 5: How revolutionary, in the years to 1701, was the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89?
Paper 2 Russia	Coursework	Revision of Unit 1: The Rule of Nicholas II	Exams
Paper 3  USA	Aspects in depth: 'I have a dream' 1954-1968	Aspects in depth: Obama's campaign for the presidency, 2002-2009

 

No one textbook is used at Key Stage 3, please instead refer to the Key Stage 3 History Reading List on the students’ Microsoft Teams page.

Below is a table of links to the textbook and revision guides of topics taught at Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5. The clicking on the name will take you to the exam board website, but other sellers are available too at a lesser cost. Furthermore, digital versions, accessible on smart phones and tablets are also available and at a lesser cost.

Key Stage 4, Years 10 and 11, Edexcel GCSE

Paper 1: Medicine in Britain, c1250-present day (2021-2022 Year 11) Paper 1: Migrants in Britain, c800-present day (Year 10 2021 onwards)	Textbook	Revision Guide, Workbook and App
Paper 2a: The Reigns of King Richard and King John, 1189-1216	Textbook	Revision Guide, Workbook and App
Paper 2b: The American West, c1835-c1895	Textbook	Revision Guide, Workbook and App
Paper 3: Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-1933	Textbook	Revision Guide, Workbook and App

Key Stage 5, Years 12 and 13, Edexcel A-Level

Paper 1: Britain in conflict, revolution and settlement, 1625-1701	Exam board textbook	Revision Notes
Paper 2: Russia in revolution, 1894-1924	Exam board textbook	Revision Notes
Paper 3: Civil Rights and Race Relations in USA, 1850-2009	Exam board textbook	Revision Notes

 

At Key Stage 3, homework will include knowledge tests per topic and extended reading opportunities.

At Key Stage 4, homework will include knowledge tests and practice past paper questions.

At Key Stage 5, homework will inform the subsequent lesson. Students are expected to independently read ahead and note take according to their PLC (Personalised Learning Checklist), as well as complete more precise and detailed homework which will be reviewed during the next lesson. Students are then expected to consolidate their notes and acting on feedback provided by the teacher.

All students will be enriched primarily through the study of a diverse curriculum reflecting the multicultural community and society of the students. This will be enhanced through trips and visits to nationally renowned museums and places such as the British Museum, Museum of Migration and Hampton Court Palace and the Palace of Westminster. Students will also explore more local History, such as Uxbridge Bunkers, the Polish War Memorial, Hayes Canals, and Notting Hill.

In school, the History Department also runs a ‘Historical Film Club’ for different year groups, offering the chance for students to see historical interpretations of topics directly or indirectly related to the curriculum.

All students also have access to the Historical Association website and student zone. Logins are available directly through a member of the History department. https://www.history.org.uk/student

Furthermore, at each Key Stage there are specific reading lists. Please find them available by clicking on this link HERE. In addition, a Historical Fiction Reading List, complied by the Historical Association is also available by clicking this link HERE.

 

The History department sets challenging, engaging, and rigorous historical enquiries that all students are expected to tackle, providing the right support and guidance. Students will be stretched and pushed using targeted questioning and high quality resources.

Students who excel in History will also receive specialist advice about different pathways in History and will be heavily encouraged to continue to study History throughout their time at Barnhill. Students wishing to carry on their studying the subject after school will receive relentless support in UCAS applications and interviews.