History
Head of Department: Mrs W Drodge
History is an incredibly interesting and rewarding subject that teaches students about different societies and allows them to learn from our collective past to help understand the world today. Studying History provides students with vital skills that are important for future careers, such as understanding, explaining and analysing key information, evaluating different interpretations, forming arguments, debates and judgements, research skills and critical thinking.
The key skills in History include understanding and applying the concept of significance, cause and effect, change and continuity and utilising sources of evidence to help with historical enquiries. We embrace the teaching of British, European and Wider World history in an inclusive way that celebrates the achievements of, and uncovers the suffering of diverse individuals, peoples, cultures and ethnicities in History.
We teach about the mistakes that have happened in the past as well as the successes and breakthroughs in human development and cover important topics that have an impact on real world issues that affect us today, including Britain in the post-colonial era, the slave trade, civil rights, holocaust, anti-Semitism and British values of respect, tolerance, diversity, freedom of speech and the rule of law by teaching about the development of democracy over
We aim to inspire a life-long love of History and want to develop passionate historians and independent learners and to help students develop their beliefs, moral compass and understanding of their own choices and responsibilities as members of a community and society.
By the end of KS4 students at Priestlands:
- Have completed a chronological framework from the medieval period to the 20th century, including the Norman Conquest, the
Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, and the World Wars - Have completed Thematic Studies such as Power and monarchy, migration and empire, social change, the development of democracy
and Peoples Health from 1250-present day - Have made global connections of Non-European societies such as the Islamic Golden Age, African kingdoms, the transatlantic slave
trade and America - Used a diverse range of sources and perspectives, including underrepresented voices
- Have completed a site study of Portchester castle
- Studied local history to foster personal connection and relevance
