History

Curriculum Leader: Mrs R Reid

Subject Teachers: 

• Mrs R Reid
• Ms C Bidwell
• Mr J Gee
• Ms K Mackay
• Mr G Leonard

History isn't about dates and places and wars. It's about the people who fill the spaces between them

- Jodi Picoult, Author

Curriculum Intent

History at Cove encourages students to think critically about the world today; how has our past affected modern society?  We aim to equip students by developing their knowledge and understanding of the past and helping them understand how and why things have changed. Students will engage in lessons that stimulate discussion and provoke deep thought about a wide range of issues such as gender, race, equality, religion, human rights and war.

We want all students to develop a life-long love of learning. We aim to help students build their critical thinking and enquiry skills by training them in how to interpret and evaluate evidence so they can reach their own supported judgments and opinions about key historical events and the world they see around them.

Curriculum Implementation

Each year group covers several units of work throughout the year. History is primarily taught chronologically at Cove. We believe this helps students build a solid understanding of why events happen, how people have played a key role within their time period and the respective significance of these individuals and events on the future – our present.

Students’ learning is assessed every lesson with ‘Do Now’ recall tasks as well as informal teacher led questioning and discussions. Students are expected to write developed answers to key questions and are taught how to do this. Students are formally assessed each term and given a % score for that test as well as an overall Progress score.

Students are regularly set homework tasks that help build students’ knowledge and understanding of what they have been taught in lessons, develop key historical skills and/or allow them to be creative in demonstrating what they have learnt and understood.

The History Department at Cove also offers the following educational trips and visits to supplement students’ learning:

• Year 10 Trip to Auschwitz- Birkenau and Krakow, Poland
• Year 11 Trip to Berlin, Germany

Curriculum Impact 

History is, and remains, the most popular GCSE Option choice for students at Cove. We have a strong team of specialist teachers who have high expectations of students. We routinely achieve at national averages for Grades 7-9 at GCSE and many students go on to study A Level History at KS5.