News:  This academic year Mrs Jennifer Ryan joins Mrs. Collins and Miss Dyke in the Department.  Last Year’s Year 11 achieved good results and many people exceeded their teachers’ expectations; well done to all of them.

Year 7 are adjusting to a new school and enjoying their first venture into secondary history and its more academic challenges. This term they are considering the question “What is History?” and will be only too pleased, I am sure to guide you through the complicated world of chronology, centuries, timelines, anachronisms and primary and secondary sources.  Their next port of call is the Roman Empire!   During the next four weeks groups will be visiting Portsmouth Museum for a “Museum Experience”.

Year 8 currently, are examining the Tudor dynasty starting with the inimitable Henry VIII. (Incidentally, BBC2 have just launched a new series on the Tudors, it shows the great Henry very much as he was I think.)  Of course inevitably the students will study his wives – all 6 of them! but the more serious issue of the Reformation beckons.  They are lighter aspects within that study, like the naughty monks and nuns, which also seem to go down well.  However as well as religious issues which dominate this period there is time to discover the lives of individuals and ordinary people.  For example we ask the question “Who was Elizabeth I really?” and delve into the lives of peasants, tradesmen, merchants and women to see how the period 1500-1750 affected their lives. An interesting anecdote is that there are pockets of people in Norfolk and the East Coast of England and Scotland  and in Ireland with Spanish names and characteristics; a legacy no doubt from the  defeated Armada’s ships which ran aground on our shores whilst trying to get home in 1588.

Year 9 presently are examining why an industrial revolution happened in Britain between the years 1750-1900 and the effects that it had on ordinary peoples’ lives.  They will be concerning themselves particularly with the terrible lives of the children in the new industrial factories and towns and the laws which changed all that.  They will also examine the role of individuals and 19th century entrepreneurs such as Richard Arkwright, right out of the mould of Richard Branson and J.K. Rowling.  They will siteing factories and examining the role of cotton, iron and coal in the development of this revolution.  It is a very interesting period of History where change is the key word and sees the establishment of a British Empire on which the sun never set and ruled over by the longest reigning monarch in British History, Queen Victoria I.

Year 10 have embarked on their GCSE course with vigour (in most cases!!) and seem to be enjoying their development study on the History of Medicine.  The practice of repining practised by Pre-historic people seems to have grabbed their interest, especially the knowledge that people actually survived having a circular hole cut out of their skull with an implement made of flint!!  The journey moves on with investigation into Egyptian, Greek and Roman medicine and what progression, regression or continuity is reflected in their medical ideas.

Year 11 are working on their final course work unit, which is a modern world study on Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries.  This unit enables them to practice their document skills as well as giving them a greater understanding of a significant issue which has been part of our history for centuries and hopefully has now reached a peaceful conclusion.  This assignment needs to be completed after half term.  Following this they will return to their development study, the History of Medicine, and their depth study, the American West.  Added to that, the Mock Examinations will demand their attention before the Christmas Break.

History Department News - June 2007

Since Easter Year 7 have been studying Medieval Realms – 1066 and all that!!   The Norman French have defeated The Saxons and are now busy terrorising the local population and building castles as power bases across the country.  Coming soon for Year 7s will be  a study of town and country life for the ordinary people. A disaster is looming on the horizon in the form of The Black Death which swept through Europe killing between a third to a half of the population of Great Britain and effectively ending the feudal system.

Year8 are currently looking at The Great Plague and Fire of London in the C17th. They have been able to use evidence from the time to find out what people thought actually caused the plague as well as some of the recommended cure from the time such as cutting a pigeon in half and placing it on the sores or taking the tail feathers out of a chicken and placing its bottom on the sores to absorb the poison!  Schools were actively encouraged to allow boys to smoke tobacco in order to blow away the bad air of the plague areas. After half term pupils will be looking at how The Union Flag came into existence and how a 54 year old German who spoke no English was chosen as king rather than the real heir to the throne!!

Year 9s have been studying the rise of Adolf Hitler and they will move on to study both the causes and events of World War Two. We are able to use a vast wealth of evidence from the time both written and visual by using real film footage. It really does make a big difference to making History real when you can see original film of the time you are studying!   The term will end by a look at two of the big moral issues of World War Two by asking the questions ‘Was the dropping of the atom bomb justified?’ and  ‘How and why were six million Jews exterminated during the Holocaust?’

Year 10 are currently working on their first piece of coursework following a brief interruption to their studies during the Work Experience fortnight.  Before starting their work experience placements, pupils went on a walking field trip of Portsmouth city centre to look at where bombs fell and how the city was rebuilt in the post-war period. Pupils are looking at how Portsmouth changed between 1930 and 1960 and how the changes compared with other cities like Southampton and Plymouth. This work is worth 12.5% of the final exam grade. Twenty two pupils voluntarily attended a coursework help session on 23rd May. There will be one more session between after half-term. The final date for submission of the coursework will be 12/13th June.

Year 11 are now officially on exam leave and will sit the Medicine Paper on Friday 8th June. Key revision areas are the Development of Surgery and Public Health, worth 60 of the 75 marks!!( Sections A and C). The American West Paper is on June 14th. Year 11 have been well prepared for their exams with lots of emphasis on exam technique. The Department has supplied all pupils plenty of revision materials, so make sure that those forests did not die in vain!!  Good Luck to all Year 11s and we hope that everyone will do themselves justice!!