Introduction

The RGS History Department nurtures academic talent. Our students are trained to think critically, debate confidently and write fluently. The History department aims to teach pupils the sweep of British history over the last thousand years. We want our students to understand how the institutions and identities of our country have developed over time. To help develop a global perspective, pupils learn about important eras of international history.  

Co-Curricular Enrichment

The classroom is supplemented by an extensive co-curricula programme including an active historical society and a wide range of trips, both in this country and abroad. In recent years our history students have visited Normandy, the WWI trenches, Berlin, Krakow and Auschwitz.   

Years 7 to 9

Our Year 7 pupils study medieval British History, Native Americans and the Islamic Golden Age. In Year 8, pupils study the Tudors and Stuarts, the Atlantic Slave Trade and the struggle for democratic rights. Year 9 is focused on the modern world. Pupils learn about the industrial revolution, slavery, the impact of Empire, both world wars and the mystery of who shot JFK. 

GCSE

At KS4 our students study Germany between the wars, from the tumultuous years of the Weimar Republic to the rise to power of Hitler. We look at how the Cold War developed from the devastation of World War Two, and how it ended. In order to ensure our students have a broad understanding of the past, we also look at the history of migrants in Britain over a thousand years, and an in-depth study on Henry VIII. 

A Level

At A-Level students learn about the British experience of warfare from Napoleonic times to World War One, Russian history under the Communists, the experience of China under Mao and the historical debates surrounding the Holocaust.