History is a core subject in B Block (Year 9) and has consistently been the most popular subject chosen by students for GCSE. Not surprisingly, therefore, it is also a popular choice in the Sixth Form and beyond.
This is so principally because of the enthusiasm and expertise of the department’s five full-time historians. Their approach to the subject is based upon the philosophy that History can and should be understood and enjoyed by all, and that students and teachers alike are engaged in an endeavour to subject sources to critical scrutiny in order to arrive at an image of the past that is as accurate as possible.
In the B-block the pupils study three topics over the three terms: The American West, Twentieth Century China, and The Home Front during the Second World War. The focus is on teaching the skills that are necessary for the study of history. The GCSE course makes use of these skills and focuses on modern world history.
In the Sixth Form students are able to expand both their breadth and depth of historical knowledge – a function also performed by the flourishing History Society, which is open to all years. Recent meetings of the Society have considered diverse topics from generalship in the American Civil War to Madisonian concepts of democracy.