Key Stage 3

We study History for three main reasons:

• History gives us a better understanding of the world we live in.
• History helps us to be better communicators and to think carefully about everything around us, rather than just accept things at face value.
• Finally, History is crammed with interesting and exciting stories about real people. From learning about these people we can find out that human nature has not changed very much!

What will I learn about in years 7, 8 and 9?

In year 7, we start in 1066 and learn about what it was like to live in Britain in the Middle Ages. You will find out about topics such as:

• What was Britain like before 1066?
• Why did William the Conqueror defeat the English at the Battle of Hastings and what effect did this have on people’s lives?
• What was it like to live in a Medieval village or town?
• What was the Black Death and how did it change Britain?
• Why did the Peasants Revolt?
• Did Richard III kill the Princes in the Tower?

In year 8, we focus on the period between 1500 and 1900:

• What sort of king was Henry VIII?
• Does Mary I deserve her terrible reputation?
• How did Elizabeth I solve her problems?
• The Gunpowder Plot: why did Guy Fawkes and the other plotters try to blow up the king?
• Why was there a Civil War in Britain and was Oliver Cromwell a better leader?
• Why did people believe in witches?
• Why did Britain want an empire and what was it like to live there?
• What was life like for slaves and how did they become free?
• What was life like for child workers in industrial Britain?

Here are some examples of outstanding work completed in History this year already!

Year 8 completed a homework project about Henry VIII and his six wives.

In year 9, we reach the twentieth century:

• Why was Jack the Ripper never caught?
• The First World War: why did it begin and what was it like to live and fight in the war?
• How did Hitler come to power and how did this change the lives of people in Germany?
• What was the Holocaust?
• The Second World War: what was it like to live and fight in the Second World War?
• The Cold War: what was the world like after the Second World War?