Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. 
                                                                                                         Confucius
As a department, we want all students to see society’s ‘falls’ but also ‘rising’ moments. This idea is also applied to individual students in lessons – challenge and adversity should be a learning process and all are encouraged to learn from mistakes.

Our History curriculum journey shows how we develop the skills of our students and the topics the students cover in each year. Click on our learning journey below to view it in more detail.

Core values? Attributes of our students- known and desired?

We aspire to be our best and to do our best for others

To ensure high quality outcomes for all students, irrespective of their personal circumstance.

To maintain a broad and balanced curriculum for all key stages which includes ample opportunity for stretching our students.

To overtly celebrate the successes of our alumni, creating positive role models to raise the aspirations of all students.

To create bespoke packages of intervention to ensure all students are able to strive to reach their potential.

To deliver a robust curriculum whereby an increasing number of students access the EBACC.

 

We respect ourselves and others

To teach our students to respect one another’s beliefs and opinions. To create a safe society within schools which allows all students to flourish emotionally as well as academically.

To develop students’ understanding of wider issues they or their peers may face in life.

To provide opportunities for all of students to immerse themselves in their local communities and be ambassadors for our academy we can all be proud of.

 

Our learning knows no limits

To constantly strive to improve the experience of everyone at Guilsborough.

To constantly review the curriculum offer for our students to ensure it continues to improve.

To respect the value of learning outside of the classroom, providing a rich range of experiences for all students.

To ensure all students follow an appropriate programme of study centred on their individual needs.

To maintain that all stakeholders are learners who strive to constantly improve.

To develop a life-long love of learning

 

We are global citizens ready for the 21st Century

To prepare all students for an ever changing world of work by developing the skills they need to adapt to technological advances.

To ensure we never miss an opportunity to improve the literacy and numeracy of our students.

To allow our students to experience first-hand interaction with employers throughout their time at Guilsborough.

The Framework of our intent

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. Confucius

As a Dept we want all students to see the society’s ‘falls’ but also ‘rising’ moments. This idea is also applied to individual students in lessons – challenge and adversity should be a learning process and all are encouraged to learn from mistakes.

 

Our curriculum aims are to develop…

• knowledge, behaviors, and skills are developed– including their resilience, confidence and independence
• Prepares learners for life in modern Britain 
• KS3 lays the foundation skills for GCSE style examination. Flexible skills are highlighted to students throughout the key stages. Further in-depth study(knowledge) of themes overviewed at KS3
• Adaptive approach to teaching- teaching to the top- all learners are supported
• Range of topics being studied.
• Meaningful link to other dept areas – skills/knowledge transference
• Improving memory skills to enable students to retain and recall information.
• Robust assessment which is plotted throughout KS3-5. Feedback is a common and consistent feature= Learning for students and staff is a continuous cycle.

Here are some of the key features you can expect from the …… department…..

• Variety of tasks in every lesson- to foster passion and enthusiasm( for the subject
• Memory work being used especially at KS4/5 +links to previous lessons
• Books that have high levels of presentation and progression
• Deep marking of assessments and high quality DIRT from students
• All learners are supported and challenged in their learning
• Data is used to inform teaching
• High expectations for all learners with extra being deployed as appropriate for DS/SEND
• Team leaders in history sharing exam expertise and lead moderation-GCSE.
• Revisions session are using exam ‘experts’ for specific topics at GCSE and A level(also in house training)

To do this, we ensure that…

• Knowledge of a range of topics is delivered via a variety of short and long tasks e. g letter writing, speeches, formal essays, newspaper pieces.
• Range of independent learning task throughout he curriculum aimed at building learners confidence to unpick sources, formulate arguments and investigate historical debates
• Consistent skills led learning throughout all year groups- information gathering, critical thinking and judgement forming, evaluation of situations and formulation of articulate arguments. Culminating in the year 13 independent research CWK.
• all KS3 assessments have now been modified to match the wording/style of GCSE questions.
• KS3 – literacy focus built into a number of lessons already to build vocabulary and academic skills sets e.g. Witchcraft, Claims to the Throne, Castles project.
• KS4/5 WAGOLLS/WABOLLS being deployed to show good practice and place emphasis on students to improve answers. DIRT and support sheets deployed in mini plenaries throughout all of year 11 and revision activities-scaffold and high challenge.
• KS3 -diverse nature of topics being studied- inclusion of Civil Rights, Vietnam and local history- Naseby/Witch Trials(Naseby has local links to the Civil War and Witch Trials directly happened in Guilsborough village). At least as good as NC.
• KS4 – Content tests deployed throughout year 10 and 11. Exam skills tests throughout Year 11 mini timed plenaries. January to May Year 11 – new Exam Skills tests every lesson.
• KS5 already in place a full range of wider reading reassures for every week of the 2 year course. Links to raising academic reading level/skills too. This is being developed for KS3.

 

The single aspirational point to conclude

Quite simply, we want to ‘maximise life chances for all our learners’ not only through results but also skills and knowledge.

 

Guilsborough Academy Vision	How we embed this
We aspire to be our best and to do our best for others	High expectations in every lesson with a drive to make rapid progress Team work and projects encourage/foster relationships between peers
We respect ourselves and others	High quality DIRT and reflection encourages our students to respect and be proud of achievements but also the next steps
Our learning knows no limits	Every lesson challenges but also supports learning through stretch & challenge seen in every task Support and scaffolding is available for every learner
We are global citizens ready for the 21st Century	Our Curriculum provides a broad and balanced range of topics including social/economic/political Appreciation and respect of different cultures and time periods is in every year. Challenges faced by different countries/cultures/races/gender is covered in our SoL

What is History like at Guilsborough?

Please watch our short video to see what studying History at Guilsborough is like.

The most engaging subject for me is history, as it allows for interesting debates and analysis of pivotal historical moments.

History is a very important subject, as it means you can have a deeper understanding of the world you live in.

The history teachers at Guilsborough add so much to the already very enjoyable subject, as they promote your own thinking and provide so much support.

Where will History take me past Year 11?

SIXTH FORM

If you choose to continue your study of History after GCSE you will be using all the skills that have been developed since year 7.  Find out more about A level History here.History as a discipline develops the core skills that can be applied to most careers later in life. Organisation and deployment of arguments is fundamental to the subject and lends itself to University level courses. You will experience new topics and get to investigate a controversial period of History on your own!

CAREERS

After Sixth Form you will have many choices in front of you about the next stage of your life. With History you have transferable skills that will best prepare you for that next step. Some careers that use History directly would be:

• Civil Servant (working for Government)
• Journalism
• Academic researcher
• Archaeologist
• Solicitor/Lawyer
• Event Planner
• Police/Armed forces

Useful resources to support learning in History

These resources are useful for students to help consolidate knowledge learnt in lessons and to aid revision ;