History

What will I gain from studying this subject? A study of History at GCSE gives candidates an opportunity to: • acquire knowledge and understanding of an important period in the relatively recent past; • explore history from a diversity of perspectives, including social, economic, cultural and political; • develop an interest in and an enthusiasm for History, and to acquire a sound basis for further historical study; • explore historical concepts such as cause and consequence, change and continuity, and similarity and difference; • appreciate historical evidence and how to use it; • gain a greater understanding of international issues and inter-relationships; • learn how to present clear, logical arguments

How will my work be assessed? Paper One: (40% of total marks, 2hrs) tests your factual knowledge through a range of types of questions. You will answer two questions in Section A (covering International Relations since 1919) and one question in Section B (from the WW1 Depth Study).

Paper Two: (33% of total marks, 2hrs) is a series of questions based on sources on a topic chosen by the exam board. For examination in 2023 the key question will be ‘Why had international peace collapsed by 1939?

Exam Board: CIE IGCSE Spec code: 0977 Option Subject

Paper Four: (27% of total marks, 1hr) is the alternative to coursework (component three) and consists of one question from a choice two on the WW1 Depth Study.

What will I study? Year 10 Option B: International Relations since 1919: • Were the peace treaties fair 1919-23? • To what extent was the League of Nations a success? This topic is examined in Paper One. • Why had international peace collapsed by 1939? This topic is examined in Paper Two.

World War One Depth Study: • Why wasn’t the war over by December 1914? • Why was there stalemate on the Western

Front? • How important were other fronts? • Why did Germany ask for an armistice in 1918?

This topic is examined in Paper One and Four.

Year 11 Option B: International Relations since 1919: • Who was to blame for the Cold War? • How effectively did the US contain communism? (Case studies of the Korean War, Cuban

Missile Crisis and Vietnam War) • How secure was the USSR’s control over Eastern Europe, 1948–c.1989?

This topic is examined in Paper One

Enrichment Opportunities History help lines are offered in activity time at particular points of the course. Numbers permitting, a trip to the Battlefields sites of WW1 to deepen understanding of the WW1 depth study.

Head of History Mrs Christine Williams williamsc@rendcombcollege.org.uk