GCSE History (AQA)

Entry Level Certificate (Edexcel)

• Key Stage 3 – Students undertake a baseline assessment.
• Key  Stage 4 – Students undertake an assessment based on examination style questions in their early weeks of study.

Our pedagogy is underpinned by:

• the regular use of live modelling and exemplar texts to demonstrate processes, standards and expectations
• a range of strategies to deepen knowledge so that it is committed to long term memory
• Marking and targeted feedback that informs planning and addresses misconceptions.
• Assessments and timely intervention.
• Using errors as a learning opportunity and building resilience.

The learners’ journey will encourage enquiry and discovery, as they are challenged to be curious, inquisitive, critical and to reflect upon evidence. An enquiring mind stimulates new and creative thinking, through which learners can gain a deeper understanding of the concepts underpinning history, and their application in local, national and global contexts. Such thinking can help learners to understand human experiences and investigate the story of who we are and how we have arrived at our current juncture.

• Baseline testing
• Stage not age approach at KS3
• Personalised learning approach
• Regular verbal and written feedback
• Targeted interventions
• TA support in class
• Wellbeing Wednesday sessions

The History curriculum helps to develop a wide array of skills which are at the core of many professions. Students are supported by the Careers and Work-Related Learning team to investigate post 16 pathways that incorporate these skills. A selection of the potential future careers include:

• Archivist:
  • Salary Range: Typically between £24,000 to £35,000 per year, but can vary based on experience, sector, and the employer.
• Museum Education Officer:
  • Salary Range: Generally from £22,000 to £30,000 per year, although it can vary based on experience and the institution.
• Museum/Gallery Curator:
  • Salary Range: Typically between £25,000 to £40,000 per year, varying with experience, institution, and geographic location.
• Secondary School Teacher:
  • Salary Range: Starting salaries for newly qualified teachers (NQTs) are around £25,714 to £32,157 per year. With experience, salaries can rise to £32,157 to £50,935 or more per year.
• Academic Librarian:
  • Salary Range: Typically from £25,000 to £40,000 per year, but can vary based on experience, academic institution, and responsibilities.
• Archaeologist:
  • Salary Range: Can range from around £20,000 to £40,000 per year, varying based on experience, sector (commercial or academic), and project involvement.
• Broadcast Journalist:
  • Salary Range: Entry-level salaries can start around £20,000 to £25,000 per year. Experienced journalists can earn between £30,000 to £60,000 or more, depending on the role and organization.
• Editorial Assistant:
  • Salary Range: Typically between £18,000 to £25,000 per year, varying based on location, sector, and the employer.
• Human Resources Officer:
  • Salary Range: Generally from £25,000 to £40,000 per year, but can vary based on experience, sector, and the size of the organization.
• Marketing Executive:
  • Salary Range: Starting salaries might range from £20,000 to £30,000 per year. Experienced executives can earn between £30,000 to £50,000 or more per year, depending on the role and sector.
• Solicitor/Lawyer:
  • Salary Range: Starting salaries for trainee solicitors might be around £28,000 to £40,000 per year. Qualified solicitors can earn from £40,000 to £100,000 or more annually, depending on experience, specialization, and the law firm.
• Politician:
  • Salary Range: Varies significantly depending on the level of government and position. MPs in the House of Commons have a basic salary set at £81,932 per year as of 2022, but additional roles and responsibilities can increase this significantly. Local government positions have varying salary structures based on roles and responsibilities.

These salary approximations are based on industry standards and might differ based on factors such as experience, qualifications, location, specific job responsibilities, and employer structure.

Intent

Our History curriculum is aspirational, and inclusive, providing broad and balanced challenge for all learners. We strive to foster an understanding of how diverse individuals, ideas, and events have shaped the world we live in, while promoting critical thinking, curiosity, and the ability to form and justify independent, evidence-based judgements.

Our curriculum is designed to remove barriers to learning and support progress for all students, including those with complex and diverse needs. It provides a strong foundation of core knowledge and skills, while preparing learners for a range of qualifications such as the Entry Level Certificate, GCSE, and Advanced Level. We are committed to creating a safe, nurturing learning environment that empowers students to develop transferable skills—such as analysis, evaluation, and independent thinking—which will support them both in further education and future employment. Above all, we aim to equip our students to act as informed, responsible global citizens, capable of making positive contributions to society.

Implementation

The curriculum is built around a deep, knowledge-rich approach, enabling students to explore the development of Britain and the wider world through key historical periods, events, and figures. We safely and intentionally incorporate local, national, and global perspectives to ensure relevance and context, nurturing student reflection of their own identities and experiences.

We place strong emphasis on cultural capital through enrichment activities and encourage flexible responses to contemporary or significant historical issues as they arise. Lessons are structured around thoughtfully tailored schemes of work, supported by a wide range of accessible resources, ensuring consistency and equity across all learning pathways.

The Thrive model underpins our nurturing approach, allowing us to adapt to individual needs, keep students safe and support engagement for all students. Through History, students develop essential academic and life skills—such as research, critical analysis, and evidence-based evaluation—that are transferable across subjects and into the wider world.

Impact

The study of History at James Brindley Academy supports students in becoming aspirational, reflective, and independent thinkers. Throughout their learning journey, students are encouraged to ask questions, evaluate sources, and draw substantiated conclusions—developing a strong sense of enquiry and historical perspective.

For those continuing into KS4 and beyond, progress is measured through formal qualifications, supported by regular assessment and tracking. We aim for all students to leave with a deep appreciation of our shared past and nurture the skills needed to think critically about the present and future, to inspire young people to safely and meaningfully engage with the world around them and enabling them to play an active role in shaping a fairer, more informed society.

Pupils should develop an awareness of the past, using common words and phrases relating to the passing of time. They should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms. They should ask and answer questions, choosing and using parts of stories and other sources to show that they know and understand key features of events. They should understand some of the ways in which we find out about the past and identify different ways in which it is represented.

Pupils should continue to develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of British, local and world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study. They should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms. They should regularly address and sometimes devise historically valid questions about change, cause, similarity and difference, and significance. They should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information. They should understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.

A high-quality history education will help pupils gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain’s past and that of the wider world. It should inspire pupils’ curiosity to know more about the past. Teaching should equip pupils to ask perceptive questions, think critically, weigh evidence, sift arguments, and develop perspective and judgement. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time.

GCSE specifications in history enable students to:

• develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of: specified key events periods and societies in the history of their locality, Britain, and the wider world; and of the wide diversity of human experience
• engage in historical enquiry to develop as independent learners and as critical and reflective thinkers
• develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context
• develop an awareness of how and why different interpretations have been constructed about people, events and developments from the past and why they may have been accorded significance
• organise and communicate their historical knowledge and understanding in different ways and reach substantiated conclusions
• recognise that the discipline of history and a knowledge and understanding of the past helps them to understand their own identity and significant aspects of the world in which they live, and provides them with the basis for further wider learning and study.