Skip to content ↓

Plympton Academy

History

Curriculum design

For additional information on the knowledge and skills assessed throughout the academic year please see the information below

KS3 Curriculum Roadmap

KS4 Curriculum Roadmap

KS5 Curriculum and Assessment Map


Keystage 3

Every wondered why there is a castle in Plympton?  Ever wondered why someone makes it into the History books?  Ever wondered about journeys of discovery around the world?  Then you are in for a wild ride with KS3 history!

Our curriculum is designed to help you understand not only your local history, but your national history and global history.  We celebrate diversity and individual hidden histories.  We love digging deeper through source analysis, and we are passionate about you being able to read, write, talk and think like a historian.

You will cover topics such as:

1 - What makes History?
2 - Church vs Crown
3 - Revolution
4 - Explorers and empire builders
5 - The slave trade
6 - Silk Roads
7 - World Wars
8 - The American Dream
9 - Events which shock the world with a focus on the Holocaust.

 

Years 10 and 11

In Years 10 and 11 we continue with our GCSE unit by looking at:

Was the American West all cowboys, Indians and gun fights? Find out in our Making of America, 1789-1900 period. This focuses on the relationship between different cultures during a period of great upheaval.

Was Coco Chanel really a Nazi spy? Find out in our World Depth Study, Living under Nazi Rule. In this unit you will consider Hitler’s rise to power, the machinery of terror, what happened to those who opposed Nazis and the Holocaust.

We also have a great opportunity to discover more about a local site, Buckland Abbey near Tavistock. Here we will find out why the peaceful setting of Dartmoor was a perfect setting for Cistercian monks and why Sir Francis Drake chose to make this place his home. This makes up 20% of the GCSE course.

GCSE History will inspire you to deepen your understanding of the people and enable you to think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, make informed decisions and develop perspective and judgement. This will help you grow into an informed, thoughtful and active citizen. Studying history will also help you understand your own identity and significant aspects of the world in which you live.

There will be 3 exams at the end of Year 11. The first paper will assess the local site visit. Then, the 2 British studies will be assessed together and the 2 world studies together.


 

Meet the Staff

  • Mrs L Brake – History Teacher
  • Mrs K Kerr- History Teacher
  • Miss R Stark - History Teacher