Our History curriculum helps students explore the roots of values, culture, and institutions in the UK and beyond. It builds empathy, encourages critical thinking, and nurtures a sense of shared humanity. Reflecting our diverse community, the curriculum connects students to the past while helping them understand their place in a global story. History at SJBC inspires curiosity, empathy, and thoughtful action in the world today.
We deliver a broad, ambitious history curriculum from Medieval England to today. Each year follows a chronological arc—Connected Worlds (Y7), Reform and Revolution (Y8), Conflict and Identity (Y9)—anchoring time sense while exploring powerful themes.
Enquiry questions shaped by second‑order concepts—cause, change, significance, similarity/difference, evidence and interpretation—train pupils to think like historians. Sequenced learning lets students build and retain knowledge. Teachers craft detailed narratives so every pupil grasps core ideas and connects to the past with shared humanity. We explicitly teach disciplinary methods: how historians investigate, interpret, spot bias and weigh causation.
Regular assessment checks understanding and retention; reviews and feedback close gaps. In KS3, students take a half‑termly knowledge test and a marked skills task.
Lessons typically open with a ‘Do Now’ retrieval. Teachers introduce 1–2 Tier 2/3 terms via choral response, then teach through explanation or guided reading; pupils note‑take and read actively. Teachers model the task (‘I do, we do, you do’) before writing or source analysis. A plenary consolidates learning and includes writing instruction linked to GCSE skills.
KS3 homework uses “Meanwhile Elsewhere in the World” sheets: pupils research simultaneous global events, expanding knowledge and making connections. At GCSE level, students complete fortnightly SENECA assignments to secure core content. A‑level historians take fuller ownership, reinforcing material through wider independent reading (JSTOR, Political Review, Historical Association) and frequent exam‑style questions.
Literacy:
Live‑modelled Writing Revolution routines teach tier 2/3 vocabulary and craft sentences and paragraphs from historian texts. They build concise, evidence‑rich writing for GCSE and A‑level success.
Oracy:
Students refine arguments via dialogic discussion, “say‑it‑again” rephrasing, accountable turn‑and‑talk and teacher‑modelled scaffolds. By GCSE and A level this becomes seminar debates and presentations that deepen historical thinking.
Numeracy:
Students timeline events, measure intervals and analyse data with charts to track change.
