History

We live in a volatile, dynamic and interconnected world. Knowledge of the past is essential in understanding and trying to make sense of what’s happening now.

History helps us to do both, through studying key events and individuals from the past and the ways in which they have shaped our present.  GCSE History also serves as a platform for further study, either in history itself or in a wide range of alternative disciplines. It can act as the foundation stone for education of all kinds and helps develop academic skills crucial in a range of fields.

These include the ability to absorb large quantities of information, sift content, analyse sources and interpretations, shape arguments and reach balanced conclusions. Above all, though, the study of History provides a highly interesting and stimulating course of study, allowing the investigation of a wide range of periods and societies in the past at international, national and local level. 

Intent 

Our aim as history teachers is to provide opportunities for our students to actively engage with exciting and stimulating topics and issues that are both personally relevant to them and necessary to understand the world as it is today. Above all we want to develop our students’ natural curiosity about the past to ensure they leave Hockerill with a life-long interest in history. 

Implementation  

Through studying history at Hockerill, our students will become knowledgeable about key events and themes in British, European and world history.

Our curriculum covers topics from social, political, and military history to ensure students have a broad and balanced knowledge of the past. We teach a mixture of development studies that track changes over centuries and depth studies that focus on a much shorter period. Revisiting key topics, themes and concepts across key stages ensures students leave Hockerill with a detailed and sophisticated understanding of them.

History is, in its essence, exciting; to present it as dull is, to my mind stark and unforgivable misrepresentation Catherine Drinker (American Biographer)

We couldn’t agree more and work hard to make sure that our lessons are as engaging as possible. As a result, many of our students retain an interest in history long after they have left Hockerill.