There are three of us who teach this: Matt, Simon, and Sophia. Our aim is to make the study of the past both fun and stimulating and we encourage our students to use their imagination rather than simply learning the facts and dates. If you can imagine what it would have been like to rebel against your king, or wallow in a World War I trench, then you will tend to remember more and begin to understand those that have lived before us.

In Years 7 to 9 we look at the last two thousand years, from the Roman Empire to the recent problems in the Middle East. In Year 7, the main focus is on the Dark and Middle Ages, and we compliment our studies with a trip to the site of the Battle of Hastings, and some dressing up in Medieval clothes at Bodiam Castle. In Year 8 we study the Tudor and Stuart periods and move on to the issues of empire, slavery and industry up to 1900. The Civil War period is brought to life with some actors who arrive at the school with many artefacts, including their own cannon! This leaves us with just the last one hundred years to explore in Year 9, the World Wars are studied in depth (including a trip to the WWI battlefields) and we finish the year with a discussion about the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Centre.

At GCSE, we build on the work done in Year 9 and study the following five areas: The Russian Revolution, Nazi Germany, The Cold War, The USA 1941-80, and Britain in the 20th Century. Annual visits to destinations such as Moscow, Berlin, Turkey and the Czech Republic are arranged to further develop understanding of the pivotal events of this period of history.  At AS/A2, we broaden our teaching and offer a wide range of moldules. Matt teaches the Napoleonic Era and dictatorship in Russia; Simon specialises in Tudor history and Sophia currently delivers the First Crusade module and oversees the Individual Studies (students can pick virtually any topic for their coursework).

Matt Burns, head of History