History

We see History as a real Humanities subject where we are studying what human beings do in conjunction with each other, in the same way that Geography. Languages and Literature look at human interaction, emotion and misery. Therefore, museum, theatre and site visits are essential and from Year Seven onward may include: Wimpole Hall (studying Victorian experiences), Cadbury World (Victorian, and, er.. chocolate), Kentwell (Tudor re-enactment), the Old Operating Theatre and London Dungeon, the Holocaust Exhibition at Imperial War Museum, Hampton Court, the Tower of London and Hatfield House.

In the first three years at Princess Helena College we aim to develop key skills in studying History for each child. These involve the ability to understand the major stories of British and, where appropriate, World History from 1066 to virtually the present day. Pupils will have an understanding of the long and short term causes of Historical events, and an ability to see the interaction of the many influences that lead to a major event such as the Magna Carta or the Hundred Years War (went on a bit!).

Highlights of Medieval History take up much of Year Seven, with a Special Project on the Chinese Empire to broaden horizons beyond the British Isles. Thomas Becket gets horribly murdered and Plague has a high profile.

Year Eight grapple with the Tudors, Henry VIII's enthusiasm for Wives and beheading, and they tackle the Civil War.

Year Nine cover everything else, themes from C19th and C20th British and World History, including a review of two World Wars, the Cold War and nuclear weapons.

Those who move on from History at this point will have a good basic grasp of the past.

GCSE

Pupils will look at Crime and Punishment in Britain from the Romans to the present day. There is also a British paper based on source interpretation focused on Protest from the late C19th till the late C20th. These British themes are balanced by an in-depth study of Germany between 1918-1945 and the American West, 1840-1900. The latter is an extraordinarily colourful topic making pupils acquainted with Sitting Bull, General Custer, Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid and it is very well chronicled history. The mixture of texts, Hollywood treatments and folk legend that we study makes brilliant material for the understanding of the relationship between History and legend and, in particular, how Americans perceive themselves and their country. For those going on to A level the skills are invaluable while at GCSE, it is very much the fundamental study of 'Humanities'.

AS and A Level

In Year 12 we study a combination of modern American and Russian History and the ever-charming Henry VIII.

We cover Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and Russian Revolution 1881-1924. The Tudors display as raw a set of examples of human genius and brutality as can be found in British History and anticipates one of the two choices in Upper Sixth Coursework.

A2 History includes a major piece of coursework, covering a hundred years of history, for which we look at Tudor and Stuart Rebellions, 1509-1660 , and students conduct their own source based individual assignment within this time-frame. Our main examination module is entitled From Kaiser to Hitler and covers the rise and fall of militaristic Germany from 1900 to 1945.