History

History at Northallerton School & Sixth Form College develops analytical, articulate and critically informed students who can evaluate evidence, construct arguments and understand how the past shapes the present.

Our curriculum is enquiry-led and carefully sequenced from Year 7 to Year 13 to build:

  • Secure substantive knowledge

  • Strong understanding of historical concepts (causation, consequence, change, significance, interpretation)

  • Advanced source analysis skills

  • Sophisticated evaluative writing

Students engage with diverse societies, political systems, revolutions and conflicts across British, European and world history.

 

Key Stage 3

Curriculum Intent

At Key Stage 3, students develop strong foundations in:

  • Power in the Pre-Modern World

  • Revolutions and political change

  • Industrialisation and Empire

  • Conflict in the modern world

  • Civil rights and social justice

Each unit is framed by an enquiry question to develop evaluative thinking and structured argument.

KS3 Curriculum Overview

Term Year 7 Year 8 Year 9
Autumn Term 1 Roman Empire – Why was Rome so powerful? English Civil War & French Revolution Experiences of WW1
Autumn Term 2 Invaders: Anglo-Saxons, Vikings & Normans Industrial Revolution Causes of WWI
Spring Term 1 Medieval Power & the Church British Empire Holocaust
Spring Term 2 Tudors: Increasing Royal Power World War One as Turning Point Vietnam War
Summer Term 1 Power in Medieval Europe Suffrage & Social Reform African-American Civil Rights 
Summer Term 2 Assessment & Thematic Review Empire Debate African-American Civil Rights

Year 9 strengthens GCSE-style writing, interpretation evaluation and source analysis to prepare students for Key Stage 4.

Key Stage 4 (GCSE History – AQA 8145)

Students study:

  • Paper 1:

    • Germany 1890–1945

    • Conflict & Tension: The First World War

  • Paper 2:

    • Health & the People (c1000–Present)

    • British Depth Study (Normans: Conquest & Control)

KS4 Curriculum Overview

Term Year 10 Year 11
Autumn Term 1 Medieval Health Causes of WWI
Autumn Term 2 Renaissance Health WWI Stalemate
Spring Term 1 Industrial Health End of WWI
Spring Term 2 Modern Health Normans: Conquest & Control
Summer Term 1 Germany 1890–1918 Germany 1929–1945
Summer Term 2 Germany: Weimar & Depression Revision & Exam Preparation

Throughout KS4, students practise exam-style questions, source evaluation and interpretation analysis to secure strong outcomes.

Sixth Form (A Level History – AQA 7042)

Students study:

  • The Tudors: England 1485–1603

  • Democracy and Nazism: Germany 1918–1945

  • Non-Exam Assessment (NEA)

The course develops advanced historiographical understanding, thematic evaluation and independent research.

KS5 Curriculum Overview

 
Year 12
Year 13
 
Autumn Term
Henry VII
Mid-Tudors
 
Autumn Term
Establishment of Weimar Germany
Establishment of Nazi Dictatorship
 
Spring Term 
Henry VIII
Elizabeth
 
Spring Term
Golden Age and Collapse of Weimar Germany
Racial State and Impact of War
 
Summer Term
NEA
Exams
  

The Non-Exam Assessment develops:

  • Independent historical research

  • Critical engagement with historiography

  • Academic writing at university-entry standard

Literacy, Careers and Personal Development

Across all key stages:

  • Tier 3 historical vocabulary is explicitly taught and revisited

  • Students use structured writing models (PEEL, evaluative essay frames)

  • Interpretation and source analysis skills are embedded

  • Debate and oracy develop persuasive reasoning

Careers linked to History include:

  • Law

  • Civil Service

  • Journalism

  • Teaching

  • Academia

  • Politics and policy

  • Heritage and museums

Through studying dictatorship, empire, civil rights and conflict, students reflect on moral responsibility, democracy, justice and human rights, fostering empathy and global citizenship.