History

Just as popular interest in the past has arguably never been greater, so history at BGS thrives. By national standards we are a large department, with eight staff currently teaching history, offering a choice of 2 GCSE and 3 A Level courses. The majority of our Year 9 students opt to study history at GCSE. We aim to build knowledge, develop skills and enhance understanding of the world around us – and to make studying the past accessible, stimulating and fun!
In Years 7, 8 and 9 pupils build the basic foundations of historical knowledge. They need to have a feel for the broad sweep of British history so we look at significant turning points such as the Norman Conquest, the reign of Elizabeth, the Civil War and on to the Industrial Revolution. To give them breadth and an understanding of other cultures we also study the Italian Renaissance, the Plains Indians of North America and Islamic Civilisation. We have moved towards putting less emphasis on the final examination by asking students to produce written work or take tests which contribute to their overall assessment. 

At GCSE we offer two courses:

The schools history project covers crime and punishment across several centuries, the American West and coursework on the Royal Fort in Bristol and Northern Ireland today.

Modern world history covers the struggle for peace in Europe since 1919, with a depth study on Britain 1906-1918, an optional unit on Weimar and Nazi Germany 1919-45 and coursework on the fall of the Tsar and on Stalin.

 Academic success: our GCSE results are excellent with 55% of students awarded an A* or A grade in 2006. 
 
Fieldwork: Year 7 visit Goodrich Castle and Gloucester Cathedral; Year 8 enjoy the American Museum in Bath or Dyrham Park; Year 9 study Brunel at the Empire and Commonwealth Museum and via ferry boat across the docks to the SS Great Britain. Typical GCSE fieldwork includes local sites such as the Royal Fort in Tyndall’s Park as well as more distant locations such as Washington and New York. In February 2008 we visit Florence and Rome. A four day visit to the battlefields of northern France and Belgium is an annual highlight for GCSE historians. 

We run an internal history prize competition, the Revill Prize, and this year four members of our Lower Sixth were shortlisted for the prestigious Vellacott Historical Essay Prize.

For full details of the GCSE curriculum please visit www.ocr.org.uk