History

Department Staff

Subject Curriculum

Key Stage 3

After a brief introduction to key historical concepts, boys in Year 8 embark on an overview of Medieval Britain. This includes a study of the Norman Conquest, life in medieval times and the investigation of key events such as the Black Death. After Christmas, the focus of investigation shifts to the Roman Empire. We study its rise, we study its fall and we examine many of the bloody and fascinating episodes in between.

In Year 9, boys get to grips with what historians call ‘the Early Modern period’. The name sounds rather dull, but this is in fact one of the most stimulating and challenging periods in British and European history. We look at the enormous changes which transformed Europe, from Renaissance art to the Reformation of the Church, and we study the great conflicts which shaped Britain, including the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the English Civil Wars.

Pupils’ passion for history is further developed in Year 10 through an engaging and at times harrowing investigation of the First World War. We also study the tumultuous changes in Irish politics and society in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which provides a context for the political diversity and division that exists today.

GCSE

We have deliberately chosen dynamic and challenging units of study to fully engage the interest and enthusiasm of our middle-school students. The GCSE course begins with an in-depth analysis of Hitler’s Third Reich and the causes of the Second World War. We then progress into a survey of the Cold War, from its beginnings in the ruins of Hitler’s Germany to its dramatic conclusion with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Finally, we conclude with an overview of Ireland’s experience during and after the Second World War.

A-Level

At AS and A2, pupils engage with a stimulating and demanding study of seventeenth century Britain and Europe. This includes a synoptic study of the relationship between Crown and Parliament and a rigorous examination of the English Civil War, the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution. To add a European dimension, pupils study the rise and fall of Mussolini in Year 13 and, in Year 14, carry out a detailed study of the French Ascendancy in Europe and the wars of Louis XIV.