History at Key Stage 4 (Ebac)
What will I be studying? The GCSE History course from 2016 is as follows: Year 10: Medicine Through Time c.1250-present day with a historic environment study; The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches; Early Elizabethan England. Year 11: Superpower relations and the Cold War 1941-1991; The USA 1954-1975: conflict at home and abroad. Exams will be as follows: Paper 1 – British Thematic Study with Historic Environment: • Thematic study: Medicine Through Time c.1250-present day. A thematic study requires students to understand change and continuity across a long sweep of history, including the most significant characteristics of different ages from the medieval to modern periods. They include people, events and developments and reveal wider changes in aspects of society over the centuries and allow comparisons to be made between different periods of history. • Historic Environment: The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches • This exam paper is 1 hour and 15 minutes long, has up to 52 marks awarded, and will be worth 30% of the final grade. Paper 2 – Period Study and British Depth Study: • British Depth Study: Early Elizabethan England. A depth study is where students focus on a substantial and coherent short time span, in this case the reign of Elizabeth I and her impact on society. This requires students to understand the complexity of the society or historical situation, and the interplay of different aspects within it. For this depth study we have chosen to study at INA will focus on political, religious, social and military aspects. • Period Study: Superpower relations and the Cold War 1941-1991. A period study focuses on a substantial and coherent medium span of at least 50 years and requires students to understand the unfolding narrative of substantial developments and issues associated with the period. The content of this unit will be divided into 3 key sub-topics which provide a framework for understanding the unit better. Students need to make connections across the whole topic. • This exam paper is 1 hour and 45 minutes long, has up to 60 marks awarded, and will be worth 40% of the final grade. Paper 3 – Modern Depth Study • The USA 1954-1975: conflict at home and abroad. A depth study is where students focus on a substantial and coherent short time span, in this case the conflicts in the USA at home (the civil rights movement) and abroad (Vietnam), and it requires students to understand the complexity of a society or historical situation, and the interplay of different aspects within it. For the depth study we have chosen to study at INA will focus on political, economic, religious, social and military aspects. • This exam paper is 1 hour and 20 minutes long, has up to 52 marks awarded, and will be worth 30% of the final grade. The three units will develop your skills of: chronology, narrative, explanation, analysis and evaluation of sources, assessment, and forming detailed, critical judgements of interpretations.
All 3 exam papers for this GCSE will be taken at the end of Year 11.