Subject Information

Course Summary

Pupils will follow the 2017 Edexcel specification which explores many different periods and themes of history. Pupils develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of specified key events, periods and societies in local, British, and wider world history; and of the wide diversity of human experience. They will engage in historical enquiry to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers, whilst building on their confidence to ask and answer relevant questions about the past. Alongside this pupils will develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them

Students Suited to the Course

If you enjoy or are interested in studying History through the eyes of people who lived through the period, finding out about how people’s lives have changed and how people in the past may have thought differently from us, debating and understanding why they are sometimes different, but equally valid points of view on the same subject then the GCSE History is the ideal subject for you. You need to enjoy applying your knowledge, working in a classroom environment and self study and research. You should be confident in exam situations and working in aguided, structured way.

Course Structure

Paper 1) Medicine through time 1250-2000 (30% of the GCSE 1 hour and 15 minutes)

• Medieval / Renaissance / Industrial Age / Modern Era

• The Black Death – Responses to Pandemics / The Church / Improvements in surgery / The NHS

• Deep focus on the First World War – Injuries and Treatments

Paper 2) American West and Anglo-Saxon and Norman England (40% of the GCSE 1 hour 45 minutes)

• The nature of Anglo-Saxon government and society.

• The Norman conquest: battles, challenges and changes.

• How did white settler take control of America

• Who are the Native Americans / What are their beliefs

Paper 3) Weimar Germany and the rise of the Nazi Party (30% of the GCSE 1 hours and 20 minutes)

• How and why did Germany lose the First World War?

• Who took control of Germany after the war? What were their success and failures?

• When did Hitler come to power? Who voted for Hitler?

• What did the Nazi state look like – Who did they persecute and why?

Possible Progressions

Apart from enjoying the course and being a lot more aware of the world around you, GCSE History is a solid basis for many A level subjects. Students who have done well in History often study higher qualifications in subjects such as Politics, Law, Economics, and Sociology. History also goes well with subjects such as English and languages. Many people working in law and accountancy have studied History because of the skills that can be developed in reasoning and arguing your point. There are also many areas more directly related to History, such as Travel and Tourism, museums, the media industry, libraries, government research, academic research and, of course, history teaching.

Contact: Mrs Turgoose