History

Head of Department: Mrs L Fairbard

Department Introduction

The History department at Herne Bay High School has five specialist rooms. We are a very well equipped department with a dedicated ICT suite, a variety of textbooks, historical artefacts and video footage available for teacher and student use.

A variety of methods are used to learn the subject including:

Courses

In KS3 we have consulted local primary schools through our transition co-ordinator to ensure a minimal clash with topics taught in KS2. This had led the department to teach through thematic enquiries rather than chronologically through each year group. (Although each theme is taught chronologically)

Year 7 – We follow a historical enquiry titled - What were people’s lives like? (A social history unit studying what everyday peoples’ lives were like in different time periods.) Within this unit we conduct a local study on medieval Canterbury as well as Victorian Herne Bay and Herne Bay’s contribution to the First World War.

Year 8 – Power and Protest from Medieval times to the 20th Century. (This is a more political study of monarchy’s and the fight for democracy)

Years 9 – Historical enquiry- Twentieth Century Conflict. This encompasses World War One, The Holocaust and the changing of nature of warfare focussing on terrorism in the 21st century.

Years 10 and 11 - GCSE History studied follows the AQA Examination Board Specification. The two-year course will follow four topics:

Thematic Study-Shaping the Nation: Britain-Health and the people: c10000 to the present day
Depth Study-Shaping the Nation: Norman E gland, c1066-c1100 to include a study of a historical environment. (Durham Cathedral)
Depth Study-Wider world depth studies: Conflict and tension 1894-1918
Period Study-Wider world depth studies: Germany 1890-1945: Democracy and Dictatorship

Click here for exam board information on GCSE History

Enrichment

Year 7 – to accompany our local study on what people’s lives were like during World War One in Herne Bay we will follow a tour of the local area visiting points of interest related to WW1.

Year 8 – Students are taken on a tour of Canterbury Cathedral and Canterbury Museum to support their unit on the study of Power and Protest.

Year 9, 10 and 11 – to support the GCSE units of study students will have the opportunity to:

  • Visit Battle Abbey and the site of the Battle of Hastings
  • Visit France and Belgium where the students have the opportunity to visit the graveyards, trenches and monuments to commemorate those who lost their lives in WW1.
  • A revision visit to a History Scene production of Medicine through Time which includes an exam busting workshop.
  • A visit to the Old Operating Theatre and Hunterian museum in London

Please click here to download the Year 6 Transition Booklet