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History

At Sponne all students study History in Years 7 and 8. History is a very popular option subject and most students currently opt to study GCSE History with many continuing to A Level. History gives students the opportunity to discover and debate a range of interesting topics from the history of Britain, Europe and the wider world. The study of History encourages students to ask questions of the world and to analyse and evaluate evidence from the past.

Key Stage 3 History (Year 7 and Year 8) 

Year 7 Topics: Medieval Britain 1066-1485, The Tudors 1485-1603, The Stuarts 1603-1715

Year 8 topics: Changes in Britain 1750-1900, Slavery to Civil Rights, The First World War. The Second World War and beyond

Some of the issues we will explore include:

  • Why were castles built?
  • What were the consequences of the Black Death?
  • Why did Henry VIII break away from the Catholic Church?
  • Why was Charles I executed?
  • Was Oliver Cromwell a hero or a villain?
  • What was life like in a cotton mill?
  • What was the Atlantic Slave Trade?
  • What was the US Civil Rights movement?
  • What caused the First World War?
  • What was life like in the trenches?
  • Why did the Nazis come to power in Germany?
  • What was life like in Britain during the Second World War?
  • Was America right to drop atomic bombs on Japan?

GCSE History (Years 9, 10 and 11)

GCSE History Exam board: Edexcel

At GCSE students study:

  • Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88
  • Crime and punishment in Britain, c1000–present with Whitechapel, c1870–c1900: crime and policing
  • Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39
  • Superpower relations and the Cold War 1941-91

All units are examined at the end of Year 11 in three separate exams.

In Year 9 we study Early Elizabethan England and begin our work on Crime and Punishment through Time. The Crime and Punishment unit is completed in Year 10 with an investigation into crime and policing in Whitechapel (including the infamous Jack the Ripper murders) and we finish Year 10 with a study of Weimar and Nazi Germany from 1918 to 1939. In Year 11 we complete our GCSE by looking at Superpower relations and the Cold War from 1941 to 1991 and allowing time to revise all units in the build up to the summer exams. 

A Level History (Years 12 and 13)

A Level History Exam board: Edexcel

Paper 1: Germany and West Germany, 1918–89 

This unit includes a study in breadth with historical interpretations. The exam is 2 hour 15 minutes long and includes two essays and a further essay question based on interpretations. It is worth 60 marks. (30% of A Level) 

Paper 2:  The rise and fall of fascism in Italy, c1911–46

This is a study in depth.  The exam is 1 hour 30 minutes with one source based question and one depth essay. (20% of A Level) 

Paper 3: The British Experience of warfare, c1790-1918

This is a study in breadth and depth. The exam is 2 hours 15 minutes long and contains three essay questions: one on source analysis, one on breadth and one on depth. (30% of A Level)

Coursework: Causes of the First World War-interpretations.

20% of A level

 

Contact Us

Sponne School,
Brackley Road, Towcester,
Northamptonshire
NN12 6DJ

Tel: 01327 350284

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