Wilson's School

History

History at Wilson’s is an ambitious curriculum designed to inspire students’ curiosity and challenge their conceptual understanding of the world. The curriculum is carefully sequenced to allow students to understand Britain’s past, and its, often complex, relationship with the wider world. This means equipping pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. We help pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and the relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

Our Staff

Mrs Berry (Head of Department)
Miss Clarke
Mr Cole
Mr Englefield
Mr Gore
Mr Powell

Key Stage 3

Core Concepts

1 Knowledge and understanding

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the key features and characteristics of the periods studied

EXCEEDING: Knowledge is wide ranging and is deployed with confidence. Understanding is shown via the deployment of factual knowledge in a way that belies an acute sense of period and significance.

SECURE: Knowledge is good and is accurately deployed. Understanding is shown via the accurate selection of relevant content for each circumstance.

DEVELOPING: Knowledge is very narrow and is deployed inaccurately, or with limited understanding. On occasion, deployment of knowledge belies anachronistic thinking.
2 Explanation and analysis

Demonstrate an ability to explain, analyse and reach substantiated judgments about periods using historical skills such as using evidence, or historical concepts change and continuity, interpretations, causation and significance

EXCEEDING: Considerable insight is shown when making analytical judgements. Views are re-thought in light of new knowledge and arguments are re-framed their argument on the basis of what others say if appropriate. Complex ideas do not faze pupils and they enjoy the multiplicity of causes and explanations. They often seek to identify the complexities within an issue that seems to have an 'obvious' explanation on the surface.

SECURE: Shows an ability to explain how and why certain events happen or the impact of individual actions, often with a balanced conclusion and an emerging ability to link/prioritise in reaching a final judgement.

DEVELOPING: Shows an understanding of chronology and how events have happened – but answers lack a thorough explanation as to why they have happened in that way.
3 Evidential understanding (Source Analysis)

Demonstrate evidential understanding by using sources (contemporary and modern) to describe, explain and make judgments about the periods you have studied

EXCEEDING: Able to evaluate critically a wide range of different sources and reach substantiated conclusions independently.
SECURE: Shows a limited understanding of how origin and purpose can impact on source content.

DEVELOPING: Shows an understanding of what origin and purpose are, but does not effectively evaluate the impact of these upon the content of a source.

Outline Programme of Study

Year 7

  •  Medieval power structures, how they were challenged and how they compared to Saxon England. Including the Norman Conquest, Magna Carta and Black Death
  • Changes to religion and society under the Tudors, including the Reformation and Counter Reformation (Henry VIII to Mary I)
  • Elizabeth I’s international reign, including the lives of Black Tudors, and the early origins of slavery during the Elizabethan period
  • Making of the UK, including the Civil War, Restoration and Glorious Revolution
  • Age of Revolutions: Transatlantic Slave Trade

Year 8

  • Age of Revolutions: Industrial Revolution: transport, working and living conditions, developments in public health and democracy, the role of Empire and slavery
  • Age of Revolutions: French Revolution and Haitian Revolution
  • WW1: causes, trench conditions, the Battle of the Somme, the role of troops from the British Empire, and the role of women. (Including World War One through the eyes of Old Wilsonians)
  • Rise of Dictatorships in Europe: Russian Revolution
  • Rise of Dictatorships in Europe: Treaty of Versailles, rise of Nazism, Holocaust
  • Thematic enquiry, asking: How has migration impacted Britain, 1066 – 2000?

Key Stage 4

Examination Board Eduqas.

Outline Programme of Study

Year 9

  • British Study: 1B The Elizabethan Age, 1558 – 1603
  • Non-British Study: 1G Germany in Transition, 1919 – 1939

Year 10

  • Thematic Study : 2E Changes in Crime and Punishment, c.500 to the present day (The requirement to study an historic site is part of the Thematic Study)
  • Non-British Study: 1G Germany in Transition, 1919 – 1939

Year 11

  • Period Study: 2A The Development of the USA, 1929 – 2000

*The order we study the GCSE Units changed in 2024. As a result, our 2024/25 Year 11 students will be studying Germany in Transition 1918-1945 in Year 11. 

Key Stage 5

Examination Board AQA

Outline Programme of Study

Component 1: 1F Industrialisation and the People: Britain, c. 1783 – 1885

Part One (AS): The Impact of Industrialisation: Britain, c1783 – 1832
Written exam 1 hour 30 minutes. Questions:

  • Section A: one compulsory question linked to interpretations (25 marks)
  • Section B: one question from two (25 marks)

50 marks: 50% of AS

Part Two (A Level): The Age of Reform: Britain, 1832 – 1885
Written exam 2 hour 30 minutes. Questions:

  • Section A: one compulsory question linked to interpretations (30 marks)
  • Section B: two from three essays (2 x 25 marks)

80 marks: 40% of A Level

Component 2: 2L Italy and Fascism, c. 1900 – 1945

Part One (AS): The Crisis of Liberal Italy and the Rise of Mussolini, c. 1900 – 1926
Written exam 1 hour 30 minutes. Questions:

  • Section A: one compulsory question linked to primary sources or sources contemporary to the period (25 marks)
  • Section B: one question from two (25 marks)

50 marks: 50% of AS
 
Part Two (A Level): Fascist Italy, 1926 – 1945
Written exam 2 hour 30 minutes. Questions:

  • Section A: one compulsory question linked to primary sources or sources contemporary to the period (30 marks)
  • Section B: two from three essays (2 x 25 marks)

80 marks: 40% of A Level

Component 3: Historical Investigation

A personal study based on change and continuity in Germany 1870 – 1990. Choice of 4 questions:

  1. To what extent was Centralisation of Power a consistent feature in German History throughout the years 1871-1989?
  2. To what extent was Militaristic authoritarianism a consistent feature in German History throughout the years 1871-1989?
  3. To what extent was persecution of minority groups a consistent feature in German History throughout the years 1871-1989?
  4. To what extent was suppression of political opposition a consistent feature in German History throughout the years 1871-1989?

4,500 words; 40 marks; 20% of A Level. Marked by teachers, moderated by AQA
 

    Departmental and Co-Curricular, Trips and Enrichment Opportunities

    Wilson’s History department offers students the opportunity to work and learn outside core lessons. For example:

    • The annual Battlefields Trip for all of Year 10
    • History Clinic takes places on Wednesdays in room 26, from 1.15
    • History Society runs weekly on Thursdays in room 20, from 1.15: all are welcome. At History Club we aim to look at the philosophy of history, interesting topics outside of the curriculum and explore the process of History
    • History Book Club runs alongside History Society, with a book club session each term.
    • Competitions: Young Historian of the Year, Oxbridge essay writing and many more take place every year.
    • Wider reading: We also have a small library of history books and lots of recommendations which can be found on the Shared Area.