Aims:
In Year 8 we help pupils to develop their understanding of their own identities through a study of history at a personal, local, national and international level. They find out about the history of their community, Britain, Europe and the world. They appreciate the significance of what they are learning and continue to develop a chronological overview.
 
As students develop their understanding of the early modern era, they will continue to ask and answer important questions, evaluate evidence, identify and analyse different interpretations of the past.  Most importantly, they will build on their capacity to substantiate any arguments and judgements they make.

Content:
 
‘Britain and the world 1603 – 1901’

• The English Civil Wars and the Restoration era
• What frightened people in the seventeenth century (including the plague and the Great Fire of London)?
• The Industrial Revolution (including a special study of child apprentices)
• Protest and rebellion (including Chartism)
• The black peoples of the Americas and slavery

Assessment:
Homework is issued once a week and should take approximately thirty minutes.  Furthermore, students complete three assessments, one in each term.  For each of these they are assigned a National Curriculum Level.  The first two assessments are conducted during lesson time, whereas the third assessment is the school examination in May.

Extra Curricular:
All students take part in a visit to Quarry Bank Mill, Styal, where they experience living and working conditions in a nineteenth century mill for themselves.  This visit also forms the basis of a piece of imaginative and creative project work on our return.

Useful Websites:
www.schoolhistory.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/history
www.schoolhistory.org.uk