History

Department profile

Our History department consists of well-qualified and enthusiastic members of staff, and we pride ourselves on helping students gain a holistic understanding of history, as well as a developed understanding of how to critically assess sources and construct strong arguments.

All students study History in Years 7-9. History is offered at both GCSE and A/AS Level. We also offer Politics at KS5.

KS3 Curriculum

In Year 7 we aim to give students a global introduction to history which moves away from the typical Eurocentric narrative and looks at the story of Britain through the lens of world history. By the end of Year 7 we want students to understand that throughout its history, Britain has been shaped significantly by the wider world and was not always able to exert the influence it could in later centuries. The Year 7 curriculum will provide a foundational understanding of how the world became globalised and the effects of this, which will then be built upon in later years. All our units of work aim to link to the work of real academic historians to provide students with access to powerful texts and extend their vocabularies.
In Year 8 we aim to continue teaching British history through a global lens, although we now approach this from a different angle. Whilst in Year 7 the focus was on how Britain was shaped by the wider world, we now begin to look at how Britain itself started to shape the history of others. In Year 8, the aim of all Plumstead Manor students becoming ‘Citizen Historians’ begins to come to light as we aim to critically analyse some of the challenging aspects of British history, such as Empire and the countries involvement in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. All students should end Year 8 with the knowledge to form a balanced and well-informed analysis to critique this challenging history and join the wider debate as ‘Citizen Historians.’ All our units of work aim to link to the work of real academic historians to provide students with access to powerful texts and extend their vocabularies.
In Year 9 we begin to look at more contemporary history as we establish Britain’s position in the modern world and the formation of society today. Building on their studies from Year 7 and 8, students should now begin to recognise that Britain is a global nation which has continuously been affected by the forces of globalisation and that this not a new phenomenon. In turn, students will use and develop their global outlook to build on their already formed analytical skills to dissect and analyse events which continue to resonate to this day, such as the Holocaust and the arrival of Empire Windrush. When students leave Year 9, they will have a good knowledge of global history and how this small Island nation was formed and in turn, helped to form the world, this will enable them to act as ‘Citizen Historians’ and to join the discourse of the powerful. All our units of work aim to link to the work of real academic historians to provide students with access to powerful texts and extend their vocabularies.

KS4 Curriculum

In Year 10 students will build on the foundation of knowledge and skills developed over the previous three years. Students will cover two out of the four topics required for their GCSE studies. Students will cover broad areas of history whilst also looking at specific depth and case studies. To meet all the GSCE assessment objectives, students will be tested on their knowledge of the periods studied (AO1), their ability to explain and analyse historical events (AO2), how successfully they can analyse, evaluate, and use sources to make judgments on their usefulness (AO3), and their ability to analyse, evaluate and make substantiated judgements on historical interpretations (AO4).

In Year 11 students will continue to focus on exam preparation by engaging in a greater drilling of exam questions and refinement of the skills developed in Year 10 so that they are ready for their examinations. Students will look at the final two of their GSCE topics and will sit two mock examinations over the course of the year. At the end of their GSCE history studies, students should come away with the ability to critically analyse sources of information and make their own judgements on these, as well as having the skill to listen to and evaluate the thoughts of others. Above all, students should end their Plumstead Manor History Journey with a love of history and hopefully the desire to study it further at KS5.

KS5 Curriculum

History A Level – OCR

Politics A Level - AQA

Sociology A Level - AQA

Extra-Curricular Activities

Students have the opportunity to:

Develop their writing through Historic Fiction and enter a competition
Complete a projects about their personal histories, guided by their teachers
Trips to museums and lectures in Central London
Trip to Berlin – KS5