Our curriculum is chronological. In Year 7 we begin at the collapse of the Roman empire, and the making of England during the Anglo-Saxon period. We go on to look at England after the conquest, with a focus on the political, social and religious structure of medieval society. The scope then widens to France and the medieval Silk Roads, which involves extended reading from our class texts of Frankopan’s work. We then return back to England to see how these wider connections caused upheaval and change through the consequences of the Black Death. As the medieval world turns to the early modern, our students look at the significance of the European Reformation in the post-Renaissance world. Within this narrative, we ensure that diverse stories are not forgotten, with a study of black Tudors using the work of Kauffman. This once more links the story of England to the wider world.

In Year 8 we return to the story of a changing England in the early modern period, with the development of political and religious ideas in the aftermath of the Civil War. The story of England then becomes the story of Britain with a study of how the Act of Union has been interpreted by historians, with students engaging in the scholarly work of Colley. It is next we broaden out to the makings of the British Empire with a study of different interpretations of its formation and impact and linking this developing empire with the experiences of enslaved people. As the story moves towards the Enlightenment era students look at how expectations of rights and freedoms changed with a comparative study of the American, French and Haitian revolutions. This leads neatly to abolition and a local study of those who benefited in Herne Hill from the end of slavery. The theme of changing rights is returned to in our final study of the Industrial Revolution.

In Year 9 the story of rights is continued with an examination of interpretations of women’s suffrage. As we move to the First World War the story becomes one of experiencing conflict. We first uncover a child’s view of the home front during the war through a Herne Hill memoir, before broadening the perspective to a macro story of how the war cast a shadow over the 1920s. This narrative is developed with a study of the causes of the Second World War, with a spotlight on the actions of Neville Chamberlain. The thread of human stories is continued with an examination of children’s accounts of the Holocaust to close this chapter on the story of twentieth-century conflict. As we move towards the contemporary period, the focus becomes far more on a changing Britain.  Our next unit questions how swinging the 1960s really were for women and minority groups, before looking at the end of the British Empire. Both of these stories provide key context for our local study on the legacy of the Brixton riots, based on the oral testimonies of our local community. Finally, we close KS3 by examining the pioneering work of Funder’s Stasiland which tells a very different story of the post-war world behind the Iron Curtain.

We open Year 10 with the twentieth-century units from our AQA course, which build neatly on from their study in Year 9. We begin with a study of the First World War, which was chosen for both its global dimension and its local connections. It also allows for a residential battlefield trip to France and Belgium. Our study of this conflict then develops in our next unit on Nazi Germany. This gives an important understanding of democracy and rights, which lays important groundwork for an understanding of the Russia course at KS5. These two units comprise Paper 1 of the GCSE exam.

In Year 11 we move to Restoration England. This course is very London-centric, and students find these links to their home city fascinating. The course focuses heavily on political and religious ideas, which provides important support to the understanding of the Tudors at A-level. The final topic is a thematic study of migration to Britain, the British Empire and national identity. This was chosen for the diverse history woven throughout the course. It also draws heavily on student understanding of Empire developed at KS3 and builds in readiness for the KS5 coursework module. These two units comprise Paper 2 of the GCSE exam.

At KS5 three units are studied in tandem. The Paper 1 breadth study is focused on Tudor England, which holds stories of political and religious development in a tumultuous period in English history. The Paper 2 depth study concentrates on Russia, with a political narrative that fascinates our students. Our final coursework unit looks at the British Empire in Africa, focusing on colonisation, decolonisation, and the imperial legacy for former British colonies. This engages students with one of the most fluid and important historical debates currently taking place today.

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