Head of Department: Mr Stoten
What can you expect from the History Department during your time at Sandhurst? There will be beastly beheadings, courageous campaigners, ingenious inventions and monstrous monarchs.
Below are some of the different topics we investigate through project work, roleplay, story telling, investigative journalism, artwork, poetry, design, essay writing, source investigations, debates, presentations, multimedia information sources and video-making.
Year 7:
What happened to Otzi the iceman? How come the Roman Empire was so huge and then shrunk so quickly? These are just some of the introductory questions we will look at in the first half-term.
The Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest is another big enquiry question we investigate and we study life during the medieval period, stinking buboes and revolting peasants and much, much more!
Do you share our love of the Tudors as we study Henry VIII; his 6 wives and his 3 children; Edward VI, Bloody Mary & Good Queen Bess - their lives, loves and laments. A key question we ask is “if the Pope gave Henry the title of “Defender of the Faith” how come he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church”?
Year 8:
Was the Seventeenth Century a time of chaos and disaster? That’s the big question we’ll be examining during the first term of Year 8. We’ll see whether it’s fair that every November 5th we put Guy on the bonfire, we’ll find out why brothers turned against brothers, why people believed in witches and which monarch had their head chopped off.
Revolution, Revolution, Revolution In this unit you will look at the changes in Britain between 1750 and 1900. (Things changed A LOT).
We investigate new inventions, new ways of life, new towns and new money. We also investigate all the old problems that go with them - fierce factory owners, lousy landlords, deadly diseases and weary workers.
We profile inventors and engineers such as Isambard Kingdom Brunel, abolitionists and social campaigners such as Charles Booth and Charles Dickens and entrepreneurs such as Richard Arkwright. Be prepared to take part in our very own version of Dragon’s Den and come face to face with our school dragons!
Was the British Empire a “good thing”? We’ll finish Year 8 with an investigation into all aspects of the British Empire. From the first colonies to the negative aspects of the slave trade, we’ll look at the arguments for and against.
Year 9:
When do we study Jack the Ripper? When do we look at JFK? When do we study Hitler? All those questions you’ve asked over the years……remember the answer? Year 9!!
The Struggle for Equality
We’ll examine the American Civil War and the subsequent victory for the North, the rise of the KKK, individuals such as Martin Luther King. By the end you’ll share our love of “Glory”!
Mysteries in History
Who was Jack the Ripper? Did Lee Harvey Oswald kill Kennedy? Put your sleuthing hat on and help solve some of the biggest historical mysteries
How “Great” was the Great War?
Our study of the First World War sees us examine many questions:
“Why did war start in 1914? Why did so many men sign up? What were the experiences of the British Tommy? Does General Haig deserve his reputation as “Butcher of the Somme?
What can a study of the Olympic Games tell us about the Twentieth Century?
The end of Year 9 sees us examining the 1936,1940, 1972 ,1980 and 1984 games. Race relations, hostage taking, boycotts, cancellations it all happens here.
