History

“History is who we are and why we are the way we are.”

David McCullough, American historian

If you want the present to be different to the past, study the past.”

Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher.

Students of History at Sandymoor Ormiston Academy will investigate a range of human experience over time, through the traditions of historical enquiry, gaining a clear frame of reference for their own present.

Key Stage 3

Students study a range of experiences and cultures, across countries and continents and investigate how and why the past has been constructed from the evidence available, and how this understanding can change over time and place. Students investigate a range of evidence and interpretations to explore how the identities of people, cultures and nations have been shaped over time, and how these experiences can be similar and different across time periods and places. Historians at Sandymoor Ormiston Academy learn how to organise and communicate their historical knowledge in a range of ways and how and why historical investigation continues to generate debate.

Key Stage 4

Year 10 is the start of the 2 year GCSE course. Our curriculum is specifically tailored to ensure our students achieve their full potential in examinations set by Edexcel. Click here to see the exam board’s website.

  • Paper 1 Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches.
  • Paper 2 Anglo-Saxon England, c1060-1088 and Superpower Relations 1945-91
  • Paper 3 The USA, 1954–75: conflict at home and abroad.

British Values, SMSC and Cultural Capital

We consider the ethnic diversity of Britain and how this has changed over time, for example, how welcoming was Early Modern England and what does the experience of the Palatines and Huguenots tell us about tolerance in 16th Century England?

We explore how ethical issues underpin pivotal events throughout time and actively promote healthy debate as we investigate influential periods of time, for example the changing role of the working classes in era of empire building and the development of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, through to the role of bystanders and perpetrators during the Holocaust.