History

History investigates the relationship between people.  It both provokes and answers questions about human interactions using different scales of enquiry to view them from different perspectives.  It develops knowledge of places and environments throughout the world both now and in the past, and a range of investigative and problem-solving skills both inside and outside the classroom.  As such, it prepares pupils for adult life and employment.

History is a focus within the curriculum for understanding and resolving issues about the world we live in and its development.  As pupils study History they encounter different societies and cultures and consider how they relate to each other in the present based on how they have interacted in the past.  This helps them realise how nations have different political and religious views and how people come to rely on each other, especially as the ‘myth’ that we all live together in one “global village” is slowly becoming a reality.  History can inspire pupils to think about their own place in the world, their values, their rights and their responsibilities to other people and the society in which they live.

In the History Department we value skills, achievement, and the desire for knowledge along with application and effort.

New Forest School aims to give students the opportunity to:

• Receive knowledge rich, sequenced curricula which will develop their knowledge, skills and understanding of the world around them.
• Be led on the journey of education by subject specialists that can deliver, review and adapt learning to best suit their needs and help them understand the history of the world and why the world is as it is today.
• Be privy to an inclusive curriculum and learning environment that allows for high expectations to be set and high aspirations to be reached by all

The History curriculum aims to:

• Provide a broad and balanced education for all pupils, which enable pupils to develop substantive and disciplinary knowledge, understand concepts, acquire skills, and be able to choose and apply these in relevant situations.
• Give a breadth of knowledge through British and World History so that students can find links across time periods whilst building skills that will support them to achieve at GCSE or Entry Level.
• Allow access to depth studies and historic environment units which will allow students to immerse themselves in specific time periods and gain a true understanding of their significance to the study of History as a whole and the links to modern day society.
• Support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development as well as their understanding of British Values and how they developed. Efforts will be taken during the planning stages to identify opportunities to discuss these intricacies in context in order to improve student understanding of the period, and make comparisons in order for students to have a greater appreciation of the society that they currently live in.
• Promote a positive attitude towards learning through the effective use of enquiry-based flip learning and interpretation lessons, which will assist students to do appropriate research and develop their understanding of studying History empirically.
• Ensure equal access to learning through appropriate differentiation and scaffolding, with high expectations for every pupil and appropriate levels of challenge and support.
• Develop pupils’ independent learning skills and resilience, to equip them for further/higher education and employment

Key Stage 3: History is delivered by a subject specialist with the majority of students receiving 1 dedicated History lesson per week (alongside other Humanities subjects).
Key Stage 4: Students opting for GCSE History receive 3 dedicated History lessons, delivered by a subject specialist.

The long term plan for History (topics taught by year) can downloaded in .pdf format

Depending on ability, students have the opportunity to undertake the following, nationally recognised, qualifications:

Entry Level Certificate in History: Level 1- Level 3

GCSE History: Foundation or Higher

Students have access to the following resources to support their learning:
History for Key Stage 3 books: A series of books from Oxford University Press.
Kerboodle Online Learning Environment: Accessible to teacher and students within school
AQA Higher and Foundation Text books: Used within GCSE lessons.