History Department
Introduction: the value of History
The future is dark, the present burdensome; only the past, dead and finished, bears contemplation. Those who look upon it have survived it: they are its product and its victors. No wonder, therefore, that men concern themselves with history.
G. R. Elton, The practice of history (1967)
The department is passionately committed to the belief that an understanding of history is a vital prerequisite to the life of an active citizen. No one can hope to develop an informed understanding of the world they live in without at least some knowledge of the past; of how we got where we are.
To that end the department is committed to delivering an engaging and stimulating historical education to students at all levels, so that even those who do not continue their study of history beyond KS3 have some notion of why the world is as it is.
Moreover, the study of history is not only an end in itself but provides all students with skills (such as analysis, synthesis, communication and research) which will equip them to perform well in a large number of academic and vocational contexts.
Programme of Study
