History | Hall Green Secondary School

Subjects/Qualifications Offered

GCSE (9-1) Business Studies
GCSE Business Studies (Legacy specification: Current Year 11 only)

History skills are extremely useful across many subjects and later on in life. It’s not just about the writing, but judging how useful information can be and using that information to argue a point of view.

Over the years the department has achieved many successes and we are proud to say we achieve better results than the national average at GCSE. We have five teachers in our department who embrace new innovative techniques and frequently update our teaching methods to help raise standards and encourage more progress in our pupils.

Above all our aim is to bring History to life by making lessons interesting, enjoyable and accessible to all. Along the way we hope pupils will gain in confidence and learn to tolerate and understand different views and opinions whilst having fun!

Key Stage 3

Year 7

What is History?
The story of Britain up to 1066
The Norman Conquest
Heaven & hell and the crusades
The struggle between church & crown – King Henry ll & King John
Life in Medieval Britain
Knights, heraldry & Warwick Castle

Year 8

Who were the Tudors?
How did Britain build an empire?
Mughal India 1526-1857
Indian Independence and the end of an empire
Great Britain and the Industrial Revolution
Britain and America’s involvement in the slave trade
The USA in the 20th Century – Civil Rights in the USA

Year 9

The causes of World War One.
Life in the trenches during the First World War
The peace settlement and the rise of the dictators
The Holocaust
World War Two and the wartime leadership of Winston Churchill
The USA in the 20th Century – Overview of the Cold War
The assassination of JFK
Terrorism in the 20th Century

Key Stage 4

AQA

Two Exams

Paper One (50%)

Germany, 1890-1945: Democracy and dictatorship

Conflict and tension in Asia, 1950-1975

Paper Two (50%)

Britain: Health and the people

Elizabethan England, c1568-1603

Short (depth study), taught through Elizabethan England and Conflict in Korea/Vietnam; students are to understand the complexity of a society or historical situation and the interplay of different aspects, for example: social, political, religious, technological, military etc. Medium (period study), taught through Germany; students are to understand the main developments and characteristics of a 50 year time span.

Long (thematic), taught through Medicine Through Time; the study of significant characteristics of different ages to understand change and continuity.

Current Programme of Study

The reformed 9-1 GCSE has the following programme of study:

Year 10- Investigating small business.
Topic 1.1 Enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Topic 1.2 Spotting a business opportunity.
Topic 1.3 Putting a business idea into practice.
Topic 1.4 Making the business effective.
Topic 1.5 Understanding external influences on business.

Year 11- Building a business.
Topic 2.1 Growing the business.
Topic 2.2 Making marketing decisions.
Topic 2.3 Making operational decisions.
Topic 2.4 Making financial decisions
Topic 2.5 Making human resource decisions

The legacy GCSE (A*-G) has the following programme of study:

Unit 1 Introduction to Small Business.
Unit 2 Investigating Small Business.
Unit 3 Building a Business.

How will they be assessed?

Edexcel 9-1 GCSE

Year 10: End of topic tests (mid-year progress checks) and a mock examination in June
Year 11: End of topic tests (mid-year progress checks) and two formal Summer examinations (50% per paper)

Paper 1: Investigating small business. 1hr 30 mins (90 marks). 50% of overall grade.
Paper 2: Building a business. 1hr 30 mins (90 marks). 50% of overall grade.

Legacy A*-G GCSE (Current Year 11 only)

Unit 1: Introduction to Small Business. 45 mins (40 marks). 25% of overall grade.

Unit 2 Investigating Small Business. Controlled Assessment task, completed and marked internally (40 marks). 25% of overall grade.

Unit 3 Building a Business. 1hr 30mins (90 marks). 50% of overall grade.