History
Our history curriculum at AIM North London is designed to ensure pupils will explore a knowledge rich curriculum based on the key historical disciplinary concepts: change and continuity, cause and consequence, similarity and difference, interpretations, significance, evidence (primary sources) and empathy. Each unit is based on an enquiry question which we engage with for a full half term. The curriculum is designed to help students become analytical thinkers who have the confidence to critically engage with and question the world around them. In turn, we aim to enable students to shape the future and become Leaders for Tomorrow by effectively engaging with the past.
In Year 7 students engage with a range of historical concepts and periods, which helps students to build a range of historical knowledge and skills. Each unit is built on an enquiry question which students will investigate throughout a half term. The first two terms focus on British history. The topics covered are: The Norman Invasion, The Black Death and the Peasants Revolt, The Reformation and the Industrial Revolution. This is followed by a wider worldly unit of Medieval Mali and Abbasid Baghdad. Students are assessed through quizzes every four weeks and an assessment point at the end of each term. These are a combination of knowledge questions and GCSE-style exam practice.
In Year 8 students build on their base of knowledge and by the end of the year should show greater levels of analysis and evaluation. Each unit is built on an enquiry question which students will investigate throughout a half term. In Year 8 students study major world events of the 19th and 20th centuries. The topics covered are: The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Lives of Enslaved People, The Civil Rights Movement, the 20th Century Women’s Rights Movement, the Causes of World War Two and The Holocaust. This is followed by a breadth unit on the history of the local area dating back to the Roman Period which helps students imbed their understanding of chronology. Students are assessed through quizzes every four weeks and an assessment point at the end of each term. These are a combination of knowledge questions and GCSE-style exam practice.
The Year 9 syllabus is designed to bridge the gap between Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. Students study two topics in greater depth, each study spans the length of a term rather than a half term. Students are assessed at the end of each study through GCSE-style exam questions. In the first depth study students will develop their worldly knowledge through their study of the Mughal Empire. Students are introduced to the GCSE syllabus when they study Crime and Punishment in Whitechapel c.1870-1900 and will be exposed to GCSE source interpretation and utility questions. At the end of Year 9 students will choose between continuing their study of history or geography at GCSE level.
In Year 10, students study the Edexcel GCSE history specification. Students open with a breadth study of Crime and Punishment through time c.1000-Present. This will make up Paper 1 alongside the Whitechapel content which students study in Year 9. Students will then continue to build their historical understanding through a depth study which focusses on Early Elizabethan England 1558-1588. Before finally starting their study of Superpower Relations and the Cold War 1941-1991. In Year 10 students will complete the first units; the Origins of the Cold War and Cold War Crises. Students will be assessed throughout the year by practicing exam questions and completing knowledge quizzes. Students will complete a fortnightly quiz to monitor their progress in the subject before being formally assessed at the end of each term by completing a GCSE paper.
In Year 11 students finish the Edexcel course. They begin with finishing the Cold War course, 1970-1991 before studying the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany, 1918-1939. We will then revise the course. Students will take their GCSE exams in May/June. They will complete Paper 1: Crime and Punishment and Whitechapel, Paper 2: Cold War/Elizabeth and then finally Paper 3: Weimar and Nazi Germany.
