Subject Choices for GCSE CO R E S U B J E C T S
O P T I O N S / T WO
History The past unlocks the present. If you love to discover new things, make sense of
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You will understand how and why humans
ideas and events, debate and understand how to make
behaved as they did - and may behave in similar
change in the world, then History is for you! We teach
circumstances again. This can be vital in relations
you to think, evaluate information, make up your own
with the most complex factor in any job - your colleagues!
mind and argue your views. As we navigate a period •
of unprecedented challenge and opportunity for our
You will learn the arts of oral debate and expressing
global community, these skills, and the understanding
a clear personal point of view - invaluable skills
of a diverse range of human experience that History
at job or university interviews as well as in everyday life.
also offers, could not be more vital. •
You will enjoy looking at the past! It’s fun! People in
WHY TAKE HISTORY?
the past were every bit as clever, stupid, interesting
When we ask our current and past GCSE historians
and varied in personality as people today. •
what they enjoy about History, they almost always say
You will see how studying the people of the past
the content. Our course takes you on a journey through
can give you real insight into people alive now. It
a thousand years and across the globe, and is brilliantly
will help you understand how and why humans
diverse. If you’re enjoying the Year 9 course, you will
behave as they do when confronted with the crises
love what’s to come! Here’s something to whet your
of today. Unless you become a lighthouse keeper
appetite and give you a sense of the amazing range of
or a hermit, you’ll need to understand other people
topics we study:
with all their complexities. Knowledge of people is
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Germany after WW1
the greatest asset of all.
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The Wall Street Crash
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The Japanese invasion of Manchuria
strengths of the world today have their roots in the
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The Italian invasion of Abyssinia
past: great or mistaken decisions; combinations of
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Hitler’s takeover of Europe
developments; conspiracies or complete mess-ups
•
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The division of Germany and the Berlin blockade
You will see how many of the problems and
all played their part! •
and Berlin Wall
Last but not least, you will enjoy looking at the past!
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The Cuban Missile Crisis
It’s fun! People in the past were every bit as clever,
•
The Vietnam War
stupid, interesting and varied in personality as
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Communist China
people today.
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Migration to Britain, c1000 to c2010, including a
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study of Spitalfields in London
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN TERMS OF WHAT
The impact of Empire on Britain – expansion into
YOU’LL DO IN LESSONS?
America and Asia, the role of slavery in Empire,
History is taught through many ways, for example:
economic and cultural impacts of Empire in Britain
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and elsewhere
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reading and critiquing the work of historians; sharing your own independent research into aspects of the course which most interest you,
Also, History develops a whole range of skills that
in writing, verbally, or in any format you want in
are invaluable in later life. Here are just some of the
our ‘unessays’;
advantages of studying History: •
You will use information effectively - this can
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role-plays;
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constructing a reasoned argument both in writing
help shed light on a particular problem or issue
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and in debates; to grasp;
confronting an organisation or individual. You will
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weigh up conflicting factors carefully before making
This all means that, by the end of the course, you won’t
critical decisions.
be repeating the ideas of others; instead you’ll be a true
You will be analytical and critical when considering
historian with convincing views of your own.
information presented to you. 28
using a range of multi-media resources.
