History History not only deals with the past but shapes the present and the future. History is all around us and is integral to the way in which we live. Through analysing source materials, debating and discussion and the application of thinking skills, topics covered in GCSE History are brought alive and you will be able to engage wholeheartedly with the past.
How you will be assessed GCSE History will be assessed by three examination papers taken at the end of Year 11. These will require you to answer structured essay questions and critically evaluate sources and interpretations.
What you will study We follow the Edexcel GCSE specification which comprises five different components: •
Thematic study covers Medicine in Britain, c 1250 - present. This includes a historic environment study of the British sector of the Western Front, 1914 - 18: injuries, treatment and the trenches.
• Period study covers Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941 - 91. • British depth-study focuses on Early Elizabethan England, 1558 - 88. • Modern depth-study is Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918 - 39. A residential trip to Berlin is offered as part of this course. The general aims of the course are: • To develop and extend your knowledge and understanding of specified key events, periods and societies in local, British, and wider world History and of the wide diversity of human experience. • To engage in historical enquiry to develop as an independent learner and as a critical and reflective thinker. •
To develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context.
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To develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them.
• To organise and communicate your historical knowledge and understanding in different ways and reach substantiated conclusions.
Examination Board – Edexcel Optional Subject Choice NEWCASTLE HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS GDST 13
