The purpose of the study of History is to instil in pupils a love of and a curiosity about the past. Through exposure to various episodes of that past they should acquire a sense of change and continuity over time, an understanding of causation, and an appreciation of the consequences and of the significance of the impact of events and people in that story. Through this, pupils will develop opinions, interpretations and judgements of their own, based on reasoned argument.
Programmes of study Enrichment
Ms J A Potter (Head of Department)Mr M B BlossomLady CayleyMr P G M FordMr A J J MacDonald Powney Mr R T MarkhamMr O T Moelwyn-HughesMrs S A Richardson Mr R A Sandall
The teaching of the subject is very much built around discussion of key issues, with research and reading providing the material from which solutions to historical problems can be formed. Writing skills form an essential part of the historian’s ability to communicate these answers.
Central to Form lessons is the common study of the development of human civilisation, enabling pupils to appreciate something of the chronology of that development as well as its ideas, cultures, actions and beliefs. Pupils are asked to investigate how those in other times and places have dealt with the problems of human existence, to interpret and express these findings and to think about how they might apply what they learn to the world in which they live. They will also be encouraged to reflect on the spiritual dimension of existence, and to understand the religious experience in guiding and transforming human lives.
At AS/A2 level a wide range of courses is offered: medieval, early modern and modern, using specifications from both OCR and Edexcel exam boards. About 110 pupils study History in the Sixth Form, with a significant number going on to study the subject (or related subjects such as Law) at university, of whom an annual average of three go to Oxford or Cambridge.
A full programme of activities takes place outside the classroom. Book reviews are a regular feature for both the Lower and Upper School, as are lectures and revision seminars by visiting speakers, such as Antony Beevor and Andrew Roberts, and by members of the department, such as the current series of lectures commemorating the anniversaries of significant events.
The department has an extensive library housed in its own resources centre equipped with a full suite of computers, and suitable for seminars, small group discussions, presentations and project work.
Occasional trips are organized locally, further afield and overseas, such as one recently to Natal to visit Boer and Zulu War sites. In the Sixth Form the department runs a series of discussion sessions to take the subject beyond the confines of the exam specifications, partly for general interest, but also by way of preparation for Oxbridge, complemented by visits to either of those university towns to meet the admissions tutors of a couple of colleges.