History

If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday

- Pearl S. Buck

Our History curriculum seeks to empower students to see themselves as vehicles of change for the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Through an exploration of the world using a British, continental and global scale, students gain an understanding of challenges to power, changes in demands of the people as society has developed and the increasing role of citizens enabling reform. Within the context of our local area and the community which we serve, History at Whitecross aims to change students, how they see the world and make them realise that action is necessary to achieve change; passivity is not an option in today's world.

Our curriculum provides students with a complex understanding of the world around them and helps them to make sense of the world in which they inhabit today. Students gain a coherent and chronological narrative which helps them to understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world and Britain's place within it. Using the history of Britain as a spine, the curriculum strives to be representative of all the peoples who make up our history.

This means:

• Students will develop a strong chronological understanding of Britain’s past; how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world.
• Students will understand significant aspects of history of the wider world.
• Students will be able to identify, analyse and evaluate historical sources and interpretations of the past and will make reasoned judgements.
• Students will gain an appreciation of the ethnic and cultural diversity that makes our past and national identity.
• Students will be able to confidently articulate their ideas and understanding of the past in academic writing.