History
Staffing:Mr Kanter (Head of Department), Miss Brothers, Mrs Martin and Mrs Wells
We are an innovative, forward thinking and like-minded department whose common goal is to bring history "alive" to all learners. We hope that through the study of the past that our students will have a greater understanding of today's world and its challenges.
The study of history provides students with the opportunity to not only acquire subject knowledge but to further their written and verbal skills of communication. This includes the analysis of various historical sources; and we encourage an analytical and critical approach.
Key Stage 3
Year Seven:
- Induction Unit: What is History?
- 'When was it good to be alive?': A comparative study of Roman, Medieval and Victorians.
- 'Who is my Neighbour?': The story of immigration to Britain and its social impact.
Year Eight:
- 'Rule Makers and Rule Breakers': A double unit on the story of political and social change since 1066.
- 'Bury’s role and development since the Industrial Revolution': This includes archive based projects on industrial life, the workhouse and changes in mental health provision since 1830.
Year Nine:
- 'The British Empire and its connections to the Slave Trade': This unit includes the Abolition Debate and a case study on British rule and exit from India, 1900-1947.
- 'How has the nature of warfare changed since 1900?': This unit focuses takes a comparative approach to the Two World Wars and more recent conflicts.
- ‘Why was the Holocaust so significant and tragic?’: This unit focuses on Jewish Life in Europe before 1933 and how the persecution of Jews and other minorities was intensified after 1933.
Key Stage 4
Both year groups follow the GCSE EdExcel Modern World History (A) specification. This course is modular and each unit counts for 25% of the final GCSE grade.
September - January of Year 10 - Students study Unit One: International Relations 1900-91, including the causes of both World Wars and Three Cold War Crises: Berlin, Cuba and Czechoslovakia,1957-69.
February - June of Year 10 - Students study Unit Two: Germany 1918-39. This depth unit focuses on the foundations of the Weimar Republic and the rise and dictatorship of Adolf Hitler.
September - December of Year 11 - Students complete three assessed pieces of Controlled Assessment on ‘Changes in British Society’, 1955-75.
January - May of Year 11 - Students study Unit Three: USA: A Divided Union, 1945-70. This source based paper assesses McCarthyism, Civil Rights and Student Protests in this period. This unit is examined in June of Year Eleven.
NB: Our Current Year Eleven are following a different order of units.
Extra Curricular Activities
The department offers many opportunities to extend our students appreciation for the subject. Our History Club meets weekly and studies topics of interest. They often present their findings within the wider school context.
We have an excellent working relationship with Bury Museum and Archives, and this has presented many opportunities for our students to experience ‘hands on’ history. We are developing links with the Fusiliers Museum; this has the potential to enhance our Year Nine work on the two World Wars.
We organise an annual end of KS3 Holocaust Study Day, which includes the unique testimony of a Concentration/Death camp survivor. In 2011 we were proud to host the ‘Anne Frank: A History for Today’ exhibition. This culminated in a joint parent/student learning experience at the exhibition.
In February 2012 around forty year eleven students will travel to Berlin. This is the second joint venture with the MFL department and promises to be another enriching experience.
Future Developments
We are very proud of our links with Bury Museum and Archives. Since 2007, we have worked together to produce original, archive based schemes of learning on 'Cotton Threads': Bury’s role in the Industrial Revolution and links to the Slave Trade. In 2008, we launched ‘Safety in Numbers’: A source based scheme on Prestwich Asylum. In 2010 we co-produced a new scheme on the 'Jericho Workhouse'.
This year we are hoping to train our students in the use of historical archives; they will hopefully put their new skills to work by leading sessions for other students! In July 2012 we hope to offer the London Trip for Year nine students. This day visit includes a session at Parliament, where we hope to spend time with a local MP and watch ‘Prime Minister’s Question Time’ live.
