Key Stage 3 Overview

In Key Stage 3 History students study a varied and enriching syllabus that covers both British, local and world history. Students in Year 7 initially look at Alfred the Great's role in unifying the English earldoms, before we consider the events in English history 1066 onwards. We look at the Norman invasion of 1066, and how this changed England forever. The remainder of Year 7 will be dedicated to the Middle Ages and Tudor monarchs. In Year 8, students will look at events of Stuart England, before considering the growth of the British Empire, with the Transatlantic Slave Trade, development of the Industrial Revolution and how this impacted the empire. Students end Year 8 with a study of the First World War. In Year 9, students will look at how Adolf Hitler and the Nazis established a dictatorship in Germany, leading to the Second World War. We will then explore the impacts of the dropping of the atomic bomb and subsequent Cold War. Students will then look at the 1950s and 1960s civil rights movement of America, and how this inspired change in Britain. 

Year 7

• Introduction to History skills
• Invaders and settlers of the British isles, including the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. Includes a study of Alfred the Great and unification of English earldoms. 
• The Norman Conquest and how William the Conqueror gained control of England
• Islamic Civilisations and the development of the Crusades
• The Medieval Period and major events such as the death of Thomas Becket and the Black Death
• The Tudor Monarchs, including the six wives of Henry VIII, the break from Rome and religious settlement of Elizabeth I

Year 8

• Stuart England, including the English Civil War and Great Fire of London
• The development of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, including all components from African civilisations, treatment of black peoples in America and the abolition of slavery
• The Industrial Revolution, and its impact on Britain, and subsequent expansion in the British Empire
• World War 1, from causes such as the assassination to fighting in the trenches

Year 9 (2022-23 only)

• The Holocaust, including how persecution of the Jews developed from 1933 to the extermination camps used during the Second World War. We also look at different perspectives of blame for the Holocaust and how it should be remembered
• The Cold War, including divisions in Europe and between America and the USSR. A depth study of the Vietnam War. 
• Civil Rights of the 1950s and 1960s, from Emmett Till and Rosa Parks, to Martin Luther King. 
• Crime and punishment through time, a breadth study of how crime and punishment has changed over time. We look at different problems of crime such as piracy, highwaymen and issues in Whitechapel in the 1880s. 
• American West c.1835–1895 Part I. This unit looks at how the American West developed including why people migrated west and how they tried to survive in the west. This will be continued into Year 10 for GCSE students. 

Year 9 (2023 onwards)

• Interwar Germany, including the Treaty of Versailles, and Adolf Hitler and the Nazi dictatorship 
• World War 2, including key battles such as Dunkirk and the D-Day landings, and how life in Bolton changed on the homefront
• The Cold War, including divisions in Europe and between America and the USSR. A depth study of the Vietnam War. 
• Civil Rights of the 1950s and 1960s, from Emmett Till and Rosa Parks, to Martin Luther King. 
• American West c.1835–1895 Part I. This unit looks at how the American West developed including why people migrated west and how they tried to survive in the west. This will be continued into Year 10 for GCSE students.