History

History is studied from Remove (Year 7) and is available as a GCSE, AS and A2 option. From Remove to Lower Transits (Year 7 to 9) a chronological approach is followed starting with the Romans and finishing with the aftermath of the Second World War and the tension created by the growth of the USA and the USSR. The pupils are encouraged to see history as an investigation, requiring the study of source material and an open mind that can begin to appreciate that events usually have more than one cause and often a variety of interpretations. At GCSE we study 4 separate units; Medicine Through Time as a development study, Elizabethan England as a study in depth, 20th century China as a modern World study and Warwick Castle as the local history unit. This offers a mixture of periods and approach and so each pupil can find at least one unit they particularly enjoy. At A level we cover a selection of 19th and 20th century topics such as the emancipation of women, Communist Russia and Nazi Germany.

There are opportunities to visit historical sites such as Chedworth Roman villa and Warwick Castle as well as exhibitions at the Imperial War Museum. There are historical plays that can be watched on subjects such as the Great Plague or a GCSE medicine through the ages revision performance. At A level we attend conferences in London where historians present lectures and take questions from the audience on key topics.

Warwick Castle, February 2008