HUMANITIES

History

Provision in history is very good.

Main strengths and weaknesses

• Pupils achieve very well in their acquisition of historical skills and they have a very perceptive understanding of the nature of evidence.

• Teachers have a very secure knowledge of their subject and inspire their pupils to opt for GCSE courses in increasing numbers.

• Leadership and management are very good. Teachers work as a cohesive unit and set challenging but achievable targets for development.
  
• Pupils benefit from detailed feedback on their progress and they are grateful for their teachers advice on how they may improve their work.

Commentary

76. Pupils performance at GCSE has improved markedly over the past four years and in 2004, from a large entry, results were well above average. There was no significant difference between boys and girls and the percentage of A* grades was over twice the national average for both genders. Standards in lessons mirror this trend and, by the end of Year 9 and Year 11 they are also well above national expectations. Indeed, some work seen in Year 11 would not go amiss in sixth-form history and the best essays in Year 8 are of GCSE C grade standard at least.

77, Pupils, including those who find the work difficult, achieve very well across all years. As early as Year 7, youngsters are developing a keen understanding of how historians come to their judgements and they already use historical terminology accurately and in context. By Year 9, they consider the reliability and utility of the evidence open to them, on anti-Jewish legislation in Nazi Germany, for example. In the GCSE years, pupils demonstrate a profound knowledge of the International context from 1956 to 1959, as part of their study of the Cold War.

78. Because teachers are very well qualified and transmit their passion for the subject to their pupils, numbers opting for courses in Year 10 are increasing. Moreover, pupils benefit from relentless challenge and sophisticated questioning techniques. As a result, and as early as Year 7, learners justify their opinions with evidence and are not afraid to express their views. For example, in an excellent Year 8 lesson on the terror during French Revolution, pupils made comments, which belied their years. Similarly in an outstanding Year 10 session on prohibition in 1920s America, spontaneous debate ensued because the teacher’s approach encouraged her pupils to see the past in terms of its own standards and values. Teaching and learning are, therefore, very good overall and staff are now considering strategies to extend group work further in lessons.

79. The department is led and managed very well and high levels of teamwork and commitment to setting targets to raise standards are very much in evidence. Staff evaluate their own individual performance and that of the department with the utmost accuracy, Furthermore, they offer their pupils regular feedback on how to improve their work and the marking of GCSE assignments is outstanding. Improvement since the previous inspection is very good. Standards are higher, achievement is better and teaching has improved.