We believe that students deserve a broad and ambitious History curriculum, rich in skills and knowledge, which immerses students in a range of cultures and engenders an enquiring and critical outlook on the world. Our History curriculum will give students the opportunity to:
- study issues at a local, national and international level in Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern and Modern time periods
- understand Britain’s influence on the wider world
- study the history and influence of different peoples and places across time
- assess the impact of events on individual and communities
- be exposed to a high level of historical and conceptual vocabulary
- learn to interpret a broad range of sources including visual sources and propaganda
- be exposed to different peoples’ perspectives on issues and events
- develop an understanding of how to apply and write about historical concepts such as causation; continuity and change; significance; consequence; diversity
- challenge received wisdom about historical figures and issues
- develop confidence in orating and debating historical issues and evaluate historical interpretations
History at Don Valley Academy will provide students with the ability to think critically about the world in which they live and to question, rather than accept ‘received wisdom’. The History curriculum is sequenced chronologically to ensure students develop a narrative of British history and can place it into a context of world events. Concepts such as ‘government’ and ‘peasantry’ are introduced early to allow students to track the development of these ideas and define them within different contexts and cultures. For example, peasantry is introduced in year 7 as part of the study of the Black Death and revisited in a different context during the French Revolution. This ensures students will see that historical terms evolve and adapt to context.
The curriculum has been designed to ensure that students gain an appreciation of divergent perspectives, rather than sticking to established historical norms. For example, in studying the Second World War, students are challenged to see the impact of the war on other countries that were attached to Britain through the Empire. They then seek to question the motives of Churchill’s decisions to divert resources to Britain and the impact that had on Bengal. Furthermore, we introduce students to characters and groups who have traditionally been ignored such as LGBT+ and Indigenous people . This ensures that students receive a rounded education in History and is essential in teaching attitudes of tolerance. In History lessons, students will regularly apply new knowledge to conceptual questions. Each topic is framed around a challenging historical question which is linked to a second order concept. Lessons mirror this, with key questions forming the basis for each lesson enquiry. This will ensure students access and apply high level vocabulary with increasing rigour over their time in history classrooms. With plenty of opportunities to perform extended writing, we are confident that history at Don Valley Academy is a highly rigorous and incredibly purposeful part of our curriculum.
highly rigorous and incredibly purposeful part of our curriculum.