History

History at Sirius has two main aims; to make the student’s successful learners and confident individuals. Our aims are achieved through our exciting and engaging curriculum which enables our students to build an abundance of transferable skills setting students up with the ability to apply such skills to future roles. Students develop written and verbal communication skills, the ability to analyse a variety of evidence to construct a well explained and justified conclusion of each student’s own opinion of past events. In KS3 students will build upon their knowledge gained in their primary education to understand how England has developed from 1066 understanding key social and political developments.

Students will build on their key stage 3 knowledge to:

• Develop and extend their skills in source and interpretation analysis.
• Develop and extend their communication skills to be able to formulate a convincing argument as a historian.
• Develop and extend their written communication to describe, explain and evaluate.
• Continue to build a breadth of understanding for key events in History.
• Study in depth to further analyse past events.

Subject Overview:

Year 7

• The Nerveless Normans
  Bridging the gap from students studying Anglo-Saxons at primary school, year 7 commences with a study of the Norman Conquest, focusing on the development of state and society in Medieval Britain.
• The Miserable Middle Ages
  Students further develop their understanding of church, state and society in Medieval Britain. Students study key aspects of everyday life in Medieval Britain.
• The Terrible Tudors
  Students study the Tudor period. A key focus of this time period is the causes and consequences of religious changes that affected the church, state and society.
• The Sneaky Stuarts
  Students further develop their understanding of change and continuity by studying political and religious changes, drawing comparisons with the Tudor topic.
  
• The Beginnings of the Modern Era
  A continuation of the political instability during the Stuart Era and an insight into how life in Britain began to change during the Industrial Revolution.

Year 8

• How has there been a fight for racial equality? 
  Students study slavery to understand the consequences trade triangle, the sale of slaves, life on plantations, areas of resistance and the abolition
• How has there been a fight for racial equality?
  Students will understand how Americans fought to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights.  
• What was the Women’s Suffrage movement? 
  A historical enquiry into the actions taken by British women in order to achieve equality and be able to vote.  
• Did Britain dominate the world?
  An in-depth study into the Empire Britain once owned with a comparison to other empires created at the time. 
•  How was Britain involved in the Great World War?
  An emotive study into the social consequences of military action and political decision making in WWI, including life in the trenches, key battles and how the war ended.
• What happened in the interwar years? 
  An exploration into why another war happened after the thriving twenties and roaring thirties. 
•  What is the significance of Hull’s past?
  A project-based study into how key events have shaped the significant History of Hull. 

Year 9

• What were the key battles in World War Two?  
  An introduction into the study of WWII focusing on the impact of key events which were turning points in WWII
• How was the Homefront affected in World War Two?  
  A development of the study of WWII concluding with a study of the social impact of the war.
• The Holocaust​
  A historical enquiry into the Holocaust.
  ​What were the deadly diseases of Britain’s past?
  Students are to analyse trends in the deadly diseases which have haunted Britain’s past to form an understanding of how society has been affected by these and how the states’ response has adapted over time.
• Who’s who in the world of medicine?​
  A historical enquiry into key individuals who have had a significant impact in the world of medicine.​
• What are the Origins of the Cold War?
  Students take an in-depth look into the political ideologies of East and West superpowers and the events that saw a Cold War begin after WWII. 

Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision and aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, to flourish to become the very best version of themselves. The History curriculum at Sirius Academy West is engaging and relevant and every student no matter their starting point all are challenged and supported.

Our History curriculum is high quality, well thought out and is planned to demonstrate progression. We focus on progression of knowledge and skills and discreet vocabulary progression also form part of the units of work.

We pride ourselves on quality first teaching with a strong team of Historians who aim to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum where all students can access the content and have the opportunity to succeed.

Many of the skills that we focus on in History lessons at Sirius Academy West can be transferred into student’s study of other subjects. History focuses on the variety of resources to research past events, helping students build in depth knowledge independently of events of local, national, and international importance. Students build analysis skills through analysing and evaluating a range of primary evidence and historical interpretations.

These skills can also be applied to the present, encouraging students to question sources of information, to ensure accuracy and reliability, to become well-informed citizens. History also supports students in understanding and appreciating different viewpoints, which encourages respect and supports teaching in the Tutor Programme at Sirius Academy West. Students also develop their written and verbal communication, presentation, and listening skills to convey their research and conclusions about events, comparing them to those of other historians.

Such communication skills are vital in all subjects, but are especially useful in English. In depth, analysis skills will help you to analyse and write different types of text in English Language, and to analyse and compare poems and novels in English Literature. In addition, the nature of History is to understand and form different opinions of events, drawing conclusions and making judgements, which will support Geography fieldwork, science experiments and technology practical tasks where practical results need to be explained, analysed and evaluated.

The variety of transferable skills built in History set our students up for a successful future. The amount of skills taught in History not only build platforms for future careers but also for everyday life. There’s an abundance of careers our students become well developed for in History such as: Law, Teaching, Journalism, Business, Accountancy, Politics, TV, Radio, Finance, Economics, Marketing, Administration, Museum Work, the Civil Service, Publishing, Data management and Public Relations are just a few of the careers and jobs that will benefit from developed history skills.