Welcome to History

Curriculum area intent & rationale/department introduction

The History Department at Queen Mary’s High School will guide students through a rich, diverse and carefully judged curriculum. Both British and wider world history remains at the forefront of what we do from Year 7 through to Year 13. Via a largely thematic approach, we will help students to navigate challenging questions posed by our shared past to better understand their present and future. Core historical skills and concepts will be developed over time, preparing them for success at GCSE and A-Level.

Aims and values of the department

To shape thoughtful, critical historians with a genuine enthusiasm for the subject.
To deliver a challenging, diverse curriculum that meets the needs of our cohort.
To continue to adapt our curriculum to the ever-changing world around us.
To explore opportunities to further enrich our curriculum both inside and outside the classroom.
To enable academic success and to prepare our students for their next steps in education and the workplace.

Where next? Links to careers

As a History student, you will never experience the events that you study; instead you have to build up a picture from the evidence that has been left. You have to become skilled at asking questions, sometimes awkward questions; you learn not to take everything at face value. You have to develop empathy and understanding of the actions and achievements of others; you have to be prepared to put your case and argue it well; you have to use evidence to draw conclusions and make judgements.

Our future doctors, lawyers, politicians, accountants, managing directors, barristers, solicitors, journalists and scientists need these skills. Above all, our students develop an open and inquisitive mind; they become critical thinkers!

Trips & visits

Year 8 – Quarry Bank Mill
Year 9 – Imperial War Museum North
Year 10 – National Holocaust Centre
Year 11 – Redditch Theatre (Hitler on Trial show + exam skills workshop)
Year 12/13 - Lessons from Auschwitz
Year 10 and above – WWI Battlefields

Department staffing

Mr D Eykelestam (Subject Leader)
Miss F Lindsay
Mrs N Ralston
Miss E Bull

How can parents help?

Obtaining copies of Oxford GCSE and A-Level revision guides are a useful starting point, but parents can support by helping students to revise at home – quizzing, reviewing, planning etc.

At Key Stage 3, students must prepare for one assessment per term. Helping them to organise their notes and revision materials is incredibly valuable.

Queen Mary's High School