Staff
Mr M J Hone MA (Head of Department)
Mr D E Armsbey BA
Mrs C A Brooks BSc
Mr A P Christian BA
Mr G R Barker MA
Aims
By its teaching and other activities the department aims to develop a knowledge of History and Politics and an enthusiasm for these subjects. We also aim to develop important skills of writing and critical analysis which can be used to support the boys’ learning in other subjects and be of considerable help to them in later life. An understanding of the past is essential to an appreciation of the present, putting current events into their wider context. The study of History also has a vital role to play in the academic development of our pupils. It fosters a spirit of enquiry, the development of ideas and the skills of evaluation and critical thinking. Above all we believe that History is to be enjoyed at school in the hope that we might stimulate an interest that will stay with the boys throughout their lives. The study of Politics enables students to understand the importance of participation in civic society and encourages them to develop their own ideas on the vital issues of the day.
Outline of work
All boys study History in the first three years. Our Key Stage 3 Course broadly follows the National Curriculum for History. In the First Form boys study the Middle Ages, in the Second Form they study Tudors, the Stuarts and the Civil War and undertake a local study of the history of Bury. In the Third Form boys learn about the British Empire, with a detailed study of the slave trade and its abolition, the Holocaust and Conflicts in the Modern World. Common themes and links between the varied topics are built into the course. History is a popular option at GCSE, where boys study the Modern World History Specification of the AQA Examination Board. The topics covered are International Relations 1900-1949, Britain and the First World War and special studies of Germany, the USSR and the USA between the two World Wars. Two pieces of coursework are undertaken on aspects of the Second World War.
The AS/A2 History Course follows the Specification of the OCR Examination Board. The topics chosen are designed to reflect the breadth of Historical study while focussing on some common themes. At AS students study the Era of the First Crusade and British Foreign and Imperial Policy 1945-1990. At A2 they study the troubled relationship between Britain and Ireland and complete two pieces of coursework .
The AQA Government and Politics AS/A2 Course covers the basics of the British political system at AS Level, with modules concerning People, Politics and Participation and Governing Modern Britain. At A2 there are modules on The Government of the USA and Political Ideologies.
The department uses a variety of teaching methods to communicate subject-matter and bring topics alive. As well as whole-class teaching, use is made of Interactive Whiteboard software, pupil presentations, project work, theatre-in-education, visiting speakers, simulation and role play amongst many others. The department has a strong tradition of field trips to support its teaching. For example, boys in the Second Form visit Helmshore Textile Museum and Queen Street Mill, Burnley as part of a local study topic, Third Form boys visit the Beth Shallom Holocaust Memorial Centre in Nottinghamshire while Sixth Form History and Politics students undertake a long-standing visit to London to tour the Palace of Westminster and meet the local MP. A Level Historians have the opportunity to visit Ireland in connection with the ‘Britain and Ireland’ module. The department maintains a large range of textbooks and other teaching materials which are constantly being augmented and updated. For example the department’s stock of videos is currently being replaced as far as possible by DVDs.
Extra-curricular activities
Members of the department run a large variety of extra-curricular activities with a bearing on our subjects, from the school quiz team and Military History Society to the Cambridge Debating Competition and the Model United Nations. The Department runs a highly successful Battlefields Tour each October half-term. This tour is open to boys of all ages in the senior school, and has a different theme and itinerary each year devised and researched by the Head of Department. The tour focuses particularly on sites connected with old boys of the school, relatives of people on the tour and local regiments. Taken together, these features probably make our school Battlefields Tour unique in the country. Since 1994 we have visited the battlefields of Ypres, the Somme, Agincourt, Cambrai, Arnhem, Dunkirk and Normandy, amongst others. Over 70% of boys who come on one tour choose to come on at least one more and we have a growing number of five and even six tour veterans.