History Department

Why History? If we can learn about the past, we can gain a greater understanding of the present, and this can prepare us for the future. 

The History Department at Sidcot is innovative and dynamic. We have built up an excellent resource base to support all the topics. Pupils enjoy their lessons and this is reflected by the intake for GCSE and AS/A2 levels. They benefit from a wide range of teaching approaches, which provides variety and really develops the pupils’ enthusiasm for the subject. Everyone is encouraged to extend his or her historical skills through individual and group activities. The use of ICT and field trips also help to bring history alive.

GCSE

The course followed is OCR. 75% exam and 25% course work. A sample curriculum is set out below to give an indication of topics covered.

Paper 1: The Peace Settlements 1919-20, International relations 1919-1939 and depth study on the USA 1919-1941. 

Paper 2: British Depth Study 1906-1918. Two course works (12.5% each).
Assignment 1: The Western Front during the Great War 1914-1918.
Assignment 2: Source analysis on Haig, the Butcher of the Somme.

The course is taught in a chronological order and during the course there is a field trip to the battlefields of Belgium and France.

AS/A2 History

The course followed for AS/A2 is Edexcel. Again, a sample curriculum is set out below to give an indication of topics covered.

AS covers Unit 1:  The seeds of evil, the rise of the Nazi party.
Unit 2:  The triumph of Bolshevism? Russia 1917-1929.
Unit 3:  Coursework on Life in Nazi Germany 1933-1939.

A2 covers Unit 4: Assignment / personal choice of historical investigation.           
Unit 5: Representation and democracy in Britain 1832-1930.
Unit 6: Depth study on Stalin’s Russia 1929-1941.

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