History at Moorland School

History at Moorland School is taught with four main objectives:-

1. To give pupils a good grounding in the knowledge related to specific areas of study.
2. To develop pupils’ awareness of change and continuity over long periods of time.
3. To encourage pupils to empathise with life in different societies.
4. To encourage pupils to independently assess the quality and accuracy of the information that they are given.

Pupils complete one assessment each term, which is marked using National Curriculum levels. (Using national averages pupils should aim to achieve Level 4 in year seven, Level 5 in year eight and Level 6 in year nine.) In addition pupils complete one knowledge-based test each term in order to assess their factual knowledge of the topics that they have been studying.

Subject Content

Year 7:

Topics to be studied include:

Medieval Realms 1066-1500

• What is history?
• Where does our information about history come from?
• The Norman Conquest
• The reign of Henry II
• Conflict between church and state
• The reign of King John
• Life in medieval villages and towns
• The Black Death
• The Peasants’ Revolt

Year 8:

Topics to be studied include:

Making of the UK 1500-1750

• The state of the UK in 1500
• Religious changes under Henry VIII and his successors
• The reign of Elizabeth I
• The Civil Wars
• The Glorious Revolution
• The state of the UK in 1750

Slavery

• The introduction of slavery to Africa
• The effects of slavery on life in Africa
• Life on the American plantations
• The abolition of slavery
• The American Civil War and its effects on slavery
• Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement

Year 9

Topics to be studied include:

Industrial Revolution 1750-1900

• The changes in farming
• Life during the Industrial Revolution
• The contribution of individuals to the Industrial Revolution
• Political issues in the early 19th Century
• The British Empire

20th Century

• Europe before WW1
• The causes of WW1
• Life in the trenches
• The contribution of Russia and America
• The effect of WW1 on Britain and America
• The causes of WW2
• An analysis of selected operations during WW2
• The role of Japan
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Anti-semitism in Europe

Key Stage 4 (years 10 & 11)

At GCSE students study the OCR Modern World Course. This involves two exams and two pieces of coursework. Exams:-

Paper One, 2 hours, 45% Examines students on International Relations 1919–c.1989 & Germany 1919-45. Key Questions

• Were the Peace Treaties of 1919-23 fair?
• To what extent was the League of Nations a success? Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?
• Who was to blame for the Cold War?
• How effectively did the USA contain the spread of Communism?
• How secure was the USSR’s control over Eastern Europe 1948-c.1989?
• Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start? Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934?
• How effectively did the Nazis control Germany 1933-45?
• What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?

Paper 1 is divided into three sections. Sections A and B test the International Relations core content. Section A has two source-based questions; pupils must answer one of these. Section B has four structured questions of which pupils must answer one. Section C tests the chosen Depth Study (Nazi Germany). On each in depth study, three questions will be set. One of these will be source based and will be compulsory; the other two will be structured questions of which pupils must answer one.

Paper Two, 1½ hours, 30%. Examines students on how British society changed 1906-18.Key Questions:-

• Why did the Liberal government introduce reforms for the young, old & unemployed?
• How effective were these reforms?
• What were the arguments for & against female suffrage?
• How effective were the Suffragettes & Suffragists? How did women contribute to the war?
• How were civilians affected by the war?
• How effective was government propaganda during the war?
• Why were some women given the vote in 1918?
• What was the attitude of the British people at the end of the war towards Germany & the Paris Peace Conference?

Paper 2 consists of a source-based investigation of an historical issue taken from the British Depth Study.

Coursework, 25%.

The first piece of coursework that students complete is a source investigation on America & Prohibition. Key Question:

• Was prohibition bound to fail?

The second piece of coursework involves writing essays on Russia. Key Questions:

• How did Trotsky contribute to the success of the Bolsheviks up to 1922?
• Why did Stalin, rather than Trotsky, emerge as Lenin’s successor?
• How did Stalin keep power?

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