KS4 Overview
The aims and objectives of this qualification are to enable students to:
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develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of specified key events, periods and societies in local, British, and wider world history; and of the wide diversity of human experience
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engage in historical enquiry to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers
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develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context
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develop an awareness of why people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them
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organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways and reachsubstantiated conclusions
For GCSE we follow the Edexcel SHP syllabus.
Building on KS3 and preparing for KS5…
Builds upon techniques , skills and knowledge at KS3.
Continues to develop extended writing, source skills and analysis of interpretations needed at KS5.
KS4 Assessment
Check students' work , recall and remember, use of white boards, think pair share, discussion, questioning, hot seat etc
Adaptive teaching and many different activities to suit all learning styles
There are 4 core assessment pieces per year at Key Stage 4 . Feedback sheets are given which include the mark scheme and written comments. . Verbal feedback is given during lessons for each assessment. Students are given time develop their knowledge and skills in response to this feedback.
Students also sit a Year 10 GCSE examination style paper.
KS4 Content
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Y10 Content Autumn |
The Reigns of Richard and John 1189-1216. |
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Y10 Content Spring |
Medicine through Time with an in-depth study of The British Sector of the Western Front. |
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Y10 Content Summer |
In-depth study of The British Sector of the Western Front |
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Y11 Content Autumn |
Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-39. |
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Y11 Content Spring |
The Cold War 1945 - 91. |
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Y11 Content Summer |
The Cold War 1945 – 91 and revision. |
Year 10 Battlefields trip video:
Below is an account of a Holocaust talk arranged by our Y12 History Ambassador:
The Holocaust - A Story of Survival:
On 22nd January, we had the privilege of welcoming Melvyn Leach, a Holocaust speaker from the organisation Generation2Generation, to come and speak to year 9 students and above.
Mr Leach spoke about the events of the Holocaust and its impact on Jewish people and communities, but combined this with the personal account of Willy Halpert shared through video recordings of him sharing his story.
Willy grew up in a Jewish family in Belgium, and was still a young boy when Nazi Germany invaded in May 1940. Gradually, the world around him began to change to one that was completely hostile. From 1942, Jews were forced to wear a yellow star in public; this singled them out as targets for abuse and discrimination, emphasising their “otherness”. Jewish shops and businesses were boycotted and harmful anti-Jewish stereotypes were reinforced by all forms of propaganda, even including children’s picture books. An attack on Jewish people, shops, and synagogues in Antwerp by local Belgian people in early 1941 marked a turning point in the treatment of Jews by both Nazis and Belgian citizens. Deportations to concentration camps began in 1942 – by the end of the war, 25,000 Belgian Jews had been deported to and murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp.
In August 1942, Willy’s father, who had joined the Belgian resistance, was arrested by Nazi officials, but he helped Willy to escape with a “blond man” who was another member of the resistance network, who took him to Château de Belœil, a castle belonging to the Belgian royal family. This castle had become home to Catholic children orphaned by the war, and hidden amongst them were Jewish children. Willy stayed here until the end of the war, and he never saw either of his parents again.
As an adult, Willy found it incredibly hard to talk about his past, but with the help of Melvyn, who was a relative of his by marriage, he did extensive research into what happened to him as a child, and even managed to track down and meet Andrée Geulen, a woman who had played a part in saving his life. Willy is still alive today and tells his story across the US and Canada.
I organised Melvyn’s visit as a result of my participation in the Lessons From Auschwitz Project, a program organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust which aims to enable young people to gain a deeper understanding of the Holocaust and its relevance today. As a history student, I have a particular interest in this part of history and how it has affected today’s world, and it’s been great to have this opportunity to share some of that with my wider school community. I’m so grateful to Melvyn for sharing Willy’s story with us and for keeping his testimony alive.
Y12 History Ambassador
Exam Board and website link
Edexcel Modern World
Details of external assessment
Paper 1: Thematic study and historic environment (Paper codes: 1HI0/10–13)
Medicine in Britain, c1250–present and The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches
Written examination: 1 hour and 15 minutes
30%* of the qualification
52 marks (16 for the historic environment, 36 for the thematic study
Assessment overview
Section A: historic environment
Students answer a question that assesses knowledge plus a two-part question based on two provided sources.
Section B: thematic study
Students answer three questions that assess their knowledge and understanding. The first two questions are compulsory. For the third question, students answer one from a choice of two
Paper 2: Period study and British depth study (Paper codes: 1HI0/2A–2W)
Written examination: 1 hour and 45 minutes
40%* of the qualification
64 marks (32 for the period study and 32 for the British depth study
B2: The reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216
P4: Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941–91
Assessment overview
Booklet P Period study
Students answer three questions that assess their knowledge and understanding. The first two questions are compulsory. For the third question, students select two out of three parts.
Booklet B British depth study
Students answer a single three-part question that assesses their knowledge and understanding.
The first two parts are compulsory. For the third part, students select one from a choice of two.
Paper 3: Modern depth study (Paper codes: 1HI0/30–33)
Written examination: 1 hour and 20 minutes
30%* of the qualification
52 marks
Option 31: Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39
Assessment overview
Section A
Students answer a question based on a provided source and a question that assesses their knowledge and understanding.
Section B
Students answer a single four-part question, based on two provided sources and two provided interpretations
Useful links & resources for KS4
Students have access to sharepoint where there are revision materials and past papers.