Mr M Bruce	Lead Practitioner for History, ECT Manager & Cover & Teacher of History
Mrs A Walsh	RSL Galileo & Teacher of History
Mrs K Pomfret	RSL Darwin & Teacher of History & Drama
Mr B Solly	KS3 History co-ordinator, Teacher of History and Sociology

Our high-quality history curriculum helps pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It inspires pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past and ask questions about how we have come to where we are now. It helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. The curriculum has specifically been designed to provide pupils in key stage 3 the historical skills and substantive knowledge to allow them to flourish in key stage 4.

Learning History equips pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. Lessons are taught with an overarching key historical enquiry question that provides the pedagogical glue that binds that the substantive knowledge together. Pupils are also introduced to second order concepts to develop their ability to think and write in History. The concepts and ideas are taught explicitly throughout lessons in KS3 and KS4. Cause and effect, change and continuity, impact, significance and diversity of experience are included to enhance the curriculum and make sense of the knowledge taught to the pupils.

In key stage 3 pupils are taught 4 lessons over a fortnight and at key stage 4 pupils are taught 4 lessons over a fortnight; all classes are mixed ability.

There are opportunities for enrichment trips within the subject. The GCSE course we follow includes a unit on ‘History Around Us’ and all pupils are given the opportunity to participate in a study visit to Portchester Castle. The history department, in conjunction with other humanities subjects, also offers Year 10 pupils the opportunity to visit  Poland and the Auschwitz concentration camp.