There are five components of the GCSE Course in History divided into three papers

Medicine in Britain c1250-Present

Students will explore medicine through the changes and turns of medical history starting with the medieval period. Case studies include the Black Death, Great Plague, Florence Nightingale, and Watson and Crick with their discovery of DNA. Pupils enjoy this unit with the focus of dirt, disease, and a good amount of blood and buboes!

The Historic Environment: The British Sector of the Western Front 1914-1918

Linked to medicine, students will explore the use of medicine in World War One. They will look at the chain of evacuation, the use of medical devices including x-rays and transfusions. This is supplemented by an optional visit each year to the World War One Battlefields normally in February time.

Early Elizabethan England 1558-1588

Pupils will discover the trials and tribulations of Elizabeth I throughout the first thirty year of her reign. They will look at religious conflict, Anglo-Spanish relations, the Spanish Armada and the early attempts to colonise the New World. It is a depth study into a crucial and exciting part of English history, in what is widely regarded as a Golden Age.

The American West 1835-1895

Students will immerse themselves in the world of Native Americans and the atrocities committed by the United States. They will explore life on the Great Plains, Native American society, the US government actions on the Plains, the building of the railroads, migration to California, the Gold Rush, and the break down of law and order. It is full on unit allowing pupils to explore whether or not the American West was truly wild!

Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-1939

A firm favourite of pupils at the academy, this unit charts the history of Germany from after World War One through to the outbreak of the Second World War. Pupils will explore the early and violent days of the Weimar Republic, the rise of fascism in Germany under Adolf Hitler and the brutal oppression enacted by the Nazis from 1933 onwards. This unit does not focus on the Holocaust, as this is taught in Year 8.