History

In addition to the obvious teaching resources, textbooks and technology in our three dedicated classrooms, the Department’s greatest facility is the Spawforth Library, which houses very good History and Politics sections. We also make use of the libraries at our neighbouring universities.

The younger boys follow courses covering – very broadly – the Romans; the Medieval World; Renaissance, Reformation and Civil Wars; the British Empire and the World Wars.

In Shell and Fifth Forms the boys follow the Cambridge IGCSE Modern World syllabus. In particular, they follow international relations from 1919 to 1989, with depth studies of inter-war America and Germany. There is no coursework, but the boys sit three exam papers at the end of the course.

At A-level the Department follows the AQA board for History. We focus on three distinct topics: boys will take exams in Tudor Britain (1585-1603) and the Birth of the USA (1740-1801). We also do a coursework project on the causes of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 in Russia.

The Department arranges a wide programme of trips away from school, ranging from the Royal Mile to Stirling Castle. Our boys studying IGCSE History get the chance to participate in a trip to Eastern Europe, while our VI Form boys have the opportunity to take a brief study visit to London. Both of these trips support closely our curriculum covered by those year groups.