History

All pupils study History in their form in Years 7-9 before it becomes an option in Years 10 and 11. The Department realises that pupils when they arrive at Eltham College will have varying experiences of the subject so we try to offer the pupil a reasonably broad based History curriculum. An effort has been made to frame a course of study covering British, European and World History as well as exposing them to different types of history, (political, cultural, military, social and economic etc.). Pupils have three lessons a week of History and one homework. Homework will test a wide range of historical skills including note taking, essays, project work, preparation for role plays or debates and historical evidence and source work.

History is an option from Year 10 onwards though students have to do at least one Humanity subject at this stage. In fact many students do both History and Geography. There is a good take up for History GCSE and the Department runs three sets in both years 10 and 11. Since September 2009 the History Department has been following a new GCSE syllabus -  the EdExcel course, History A, the Making of the Modern World.

Click here for information about the History syllabus throughout the school.

Many students choose to take History in the Sixth Form. Numbers are generally high, but usually we have 2 sets of around 15 students. The teaching is split between two teachers, one who concentrates on European topics and one who teaches the English History modules.

The History Department follows the new OCR A level Syllabus (History A course). This requires candidates to study 4 modules, two units in the Lower Sixth and two units in the Upper Sixth. The topics currently followed are the Condition of England 1815-53, Italy 1896-1943, Russian Revolutions 1896-1924 and Britain and Ireland 1798-1921.

The Department runs two school trips; one in Year 7 to Bodiam Castle and one in Year 9 to either Ypres or the Somme to look at the Great War Battlefields. There is also a History Society for Sixth Formers which meets a couple of times a year where outside speakers are invited to address the pupils. Recent speakers have included Mr Josef Perl, a Holocaust survivor and author of 'Faces in the Smoke' and Antony Slinn, an expert on Picasso's Guernica who talked about the link between History and Art.

Five staff currently teach history through the different age groups; Mr D Grinstead, Mr E Cavendish, Mr P Mander, Mr O Weatherley and Mr P Floyd.