Chalk Valley History Festival Valley History Festival
Medieval Warfare Warfare
Musket Demonstration Demonstration
Tudor Day Day
Year 9 Trench Project 9 Trench Project
Year 7 Castle Project 7 Castle Project
Belgium World War One Battlefields Trip World War One Battlefields Trip
In the Trenches the Trenches
War Graves Graves
War Graves Graves
Dressed as a First World War Soldier as a First World War Soldier

Key Stage 3

Topics Covered

​Year 7

​Year 8

​Year 9

​What Problems did Medieval Monarchs face?​Why did marriage and religion cause so many problems for Tudor Monarchs?​How did people improve their rights?
​Why did William win at the Battle of Hastings?​What problems did Henry VIII have?​Case study one: From Slavery to Equality
​Would you have rebelled against the Normans?​Does Mary deserve the title bloody Mary?​Case study Two: Why did it take women so much longer to gain the vote?
​How did castles develop?​What challenges did Elizabeth face?​What will the 20th Century be remembered for?
​Why was Thomas Becket murdered?​Who should Elizabeth marry?​What was so Great about the Great War?
​Was King John such a bad king?​How did Elizabeth use her image to rule over her subjects?​How could the Holocaust have happened?
​Why did the Peasants’ Revolt?​What was Tudor society like?​Hot war - Cold war?
​Was it better to live in Medieval England or Islam?​Was Cromwell Hero or Villain?
​What were the Middle Ages like?​Why were people angry with King Charles I?
​How did religion affect people’s lives?​Why was there a civil war?
​How hard was life for medieval peasants?​Was the trial of King Charles fair?
​What was life like in towns?​Why was he executed?
​Why was the Black Death so terrifying?​What problems occurred later?
​Was medicine better in medieval England or Islam?​The Gunpowder plot and Fire of London
​Did life improve between 1750 - 1900?
​Why did people move from the countryside to towns?
​What were conditions like in industrial towns?
​What were conditions like for child workers ?
​How were child working conditions
​Would you have survived in the 1800s?


As you may be aware, in 2013 the Department for Education announced the scrapping of National Curriculum Levels for Years 7, 8 and 9. Schools were tasked with developing their own models of assessment. Whilst, as a school, we had reservations about the immediacy of this change we have welcomed the opportunity to develop a more robust form of assessment which, we hope, provides students and yourselves with a clearer indication of their progress. Previously, students were given a numerical score, or level. In isolation this provided very little feedback to parents, or indeed the students themselves. A ‘level 5’, for example, represented a very broad range of attainment. Nor did a numerical score indicate whether it was a disappointing result for an individual or an outstanding achievement. We also recognise that labelling students with arbitrary grades or numerical levels has the potential to inhibit students’ potential both in school and the future.
Each subject area has spent time developing clear attainment criteria for Years 7, 8 and 9, focussed on the key knowledge, understanding and skills which students require as a foundation for their GCSEs in Years 10 and 11. These criteria are currently divided into four bands, Foundation, Intermediate, Higher and Advanced. 

Assessment Grid

Trips and Events

Oxonwood Medieval Workshop

Parliament Trip

Chalke Valley History Festival

Holocaust Survivor Talk

Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11)


​Course Codes

​Exam Board

​GCSE​EdExcel History 1HI0



London - Medicine Through Time

Key Stage 5 (Years 12 and 13)


​Course Codes

​Exam Board

​A Level​OCR History H505



Belgium - World War One Battlefields