History GCSE

Why choose GCSE History? UL_Cw UL_Cw

There are three areas where concrete answers will be essential before making a decision about history: Do employers value history? 1 2 Should I take History if I am planning to go to university? 3 Will I enjoy the content of the course?

Do employers value History?

Employers and Universities value History very highly…… The skills that are taught within the subject are very useful in work, study and life.

‘historians are regarded as having had an education that trains their minds to assemble, organise and present facts and opinions and this is a very useful quality in many walks of life and careers…history is an excellent preparation for very many other jobs.’ The highly respected ‘Which?’ consumer guides wrote the following in their ‘Which Subject, Which Career? Book’

What do the following people all have in common? ….and who are they?

Famous people who started by studying History……. Michael Mansfield QC - Barrister Gordon Brown – ex Labour Prime Minister Alan Bennett - Playwright Jonathan Ross - Entertainment Ali G - Comedian Simon Mayo – Radio 2 DJ Jeremy Bowen – BBC Jeremy Kyle - Agony Aunt! Boris Johnson – Mayor of London Nick Clegg – ex deputy Prime Minister

Should I take History if I am planning to go to university?

Probably…yes! The English Baccalaureate English, Maths, Sciences, Foreign Languages (All conpulsory at this school) plus History and/or Geography. ‘These are subjects most likely to be required or preferred for entry to degree courses and ones that will keep the most doors open.’ (DfE) ‘ The current English Baccalaureate is not a qualification itself but a particular group of GCSE subjects that are usually looked on favourably by universities. …….Put simply, it's a way for the government, and parents looking at school league tables, to measure and compare how many pupils in a school are getting grade C or above in certain academically-focused GCSEs’. ‘These subjects also happen to be the ones most regularly asked for by college and university courses – worth bearing in mind when deciding which GCSEs to take’. GCSE choices and university- What’s the English Baccalaureate? Which? University

So will I enjoy the content of the course?

AQA GCSE History Year 10 America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and Inequality Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945–1972 Written exam paper worth 50% of the course *Both exams are in Year 11 at the end of the course* Year 11 Britain: Health and the people: c1000 to the present day Elizabethan England Written exam paper worth 50% of the course

America, 1920–1973: Opportunity and Inequality

The economic boom of the 1920s Flappers and the changing lives of women Prohibition and the rise of the gangsters America and the Second World War Rock ‘n’ Roll and the emergence of TV Civil rights campaign, the KKK and Martin Luther King Great Presidents of the 1960s: Kennedy and Johnson

Conflict and tension between East and West, 1945–1972

Origins of the Cold War Korean and Vietnam wars The Berlin wall The space race and the arms race The Cuban Missile Crisis

Britain: Health and the people: c1000 to the present day

How health and the practise of medicine developed from medieval times to the 21 st century How progress was made through war, science, superstition and individuals.

Elizabethan England

Elizabeth, her court and how she ruled Life of ordinary people: the poor, theatre, voyages of discovery Troubles at home and abroad: The Armada, Mary Queen of Scots, religion Local study of an Elizabethan building

Department priorities (The next two years): To manage curriculum change in an efficient and effective manner To lead on developing student literacy and help ensure students achieve positive SPaG marks in all subjects To establish 85% A-C pass rate as the minimum departmental expectation