History

History encourages pupils’ curiosity about the past and its impact and relevance to their lives and issues today. The study of the human experience should produce reflective and empathetic adults.

Lower School – Key Stage 1

At Gad’s Hill, History is more than learning about the past — it’s about inspiring curiosity, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of the world. Through engaging topics from various eras and locations, children explore how people lived, what they believed, and how their actions shaped the present. As part of achieving a Good Level of Development (GLD) within the EYFS framework, children begin to develop an understanding of history by exploring past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members.

Our curriculum is designed to challenge and excite. We use storytelling, enquiry-based learning, and hands-on experiences to bring history to life. Lessons are carefully structured to build knowledge and skills over time, helping pupils make meaningful connections across periods and themes.

History at Gad’s Hill nurtures key skills: questioning, reasoning, empathy, and communication. It encourages pupils to think critically, consider different perspectives, and develop a strong sense of identity and values. These are essential foundations for future learning and active citizenship.   Enrichment opportunities, such as themed days, museum visits, and historical role-play, deepen understanding and spark imagination.

The journey begins in KS1 where pupils start to explore significant people, events, and places from the past; events like the Gunpowder Plot and the Great Fire of London, and famous figures such as Florence Nightingale. Pupils learn to sequence events, use simple timelines, and ask questions about why things happened. Lessons are interactive and enquiry-based, using stories, artefacts, and digital resources to bring the past to life. Practical activities such as handling historical objects brought in from museums and visiting local sites make learning engaging and memorable.

Lower School – Key Stage 2

KS2 History builds on the enquiry skills learnt in KS1 with studies focussed on the Indus Valley, Tudor exploration and Benin. Pupils study the significance and impact of the revolutionary Romans and Victorians, and evaluate change with the thematic study of London Through Time. Prehistoric Britain, ancient Mesopotamia and Medieval Bagdad, Jerusalem and Zimbabwe are studied, providing a variety of periods and locations to explore.

Lessons include discussion, research projects, and technology-based enquiry, encouraging pupils to analyse sources, evaluate evidence, and present arguments confidently. Enrichment opportunities include museum visits, historical workshops, and themed days that immerse pupils in the past.  For example, pupils have visited Chatham Docks and the British Museum to see artefacts from the locations studied in Lower Shell, bringing their studies to life.

Cross-curricular links with Geography, Art and English deepen understanding and encourage critical thinking. By the end of KS2, pupils are equipped with historical knowledge and analytical skills that prepare them for Upper School and beyond, fostering curiosity and an informed perspective on the world.

Upper School – Key Stage 3

In KS3 History we explore a variety of time periods, people and events. We look at what changed, what didn’t change; what caused the change and what the consequence of it was; how significant that change, event or person was; and identify similarities and differences within what we’ve studied.  This is done by new information being revealed each lesson and an opportunity for you to assess it, evaluate it and make your own judgement. We use sources (from the time) and interpretations (from after) to reach these judgements.  Studying the past allows us to use anything and everything to learn more about it! This means that what we explore can be different every lesson. We develop your skills in inferring from a source, this is where you suggest what the source is saying which might be different from everyone else’s ideas. History encourages you to be unique, to say what you think and justify it.

In KS3, Upper Shell investigates why Kings of England struggled to rule. This includes Alfred and the Viking invasion, Henry II and his family’s revolt, John and the Magna Carta, Edward III and the Black Death, and Henry and the break from Rome. Lower Fourth question how European imperialism impacted the world. We explore the impact of 16-17th century exploration, the slave trade, the development of the British Empire, 19th century colonialism and consequently the causes of the First World War. We finish KS3 studying the importance and impact of the Third Reich and the Holocaust.

Upper School – Key Stage 4

In KS4 we study the AQA GCSE options of the American West, Health and the People, Norman England or Elizabethan England, and the First World War. The four exam papers require you to answer a range of questions that cover all the skills taught. Some are short and expect you to suggest from a source, others are longer and need you to evaluate (weigh up) the impact of a factor. This is personal, what you think; and so studying History is not prescriptive but about what you get out of it.

The American West (c.1840-1895) is where we see how the USA was formed, via explorers, settlers, colonisation, conflict with the Plains Indians and a Civil War. The causes of the First World War (1894-1914) and the changes of tactics and advancement and impact of technology, leading to Germany’s defeat (1914-1918) is studied next. Health and the People (c.1000 to the present day) is the third unit, where a thousand years of change and progress in medicine, public health, and surgery is explored. Finally, Norman England. In this unit the context and causes of the infamous Battle of Hastings is studied, as well as the impact of Norman colonisation and changes within the Church. There is a Historic Environment to be examined, which differs every year, from Pevensey Castle to Durham Cathedral.

History is the subject for wanting to know ‘why’ and ‘how’. Essentially, we study human beings; and so, any future career that involves empathy, understanding and communication will benefit from what you learn in History at Gad’s Hill. You are encouraged to question what you know, how things were, what is the truth. You will become a master at articulately explaining something and justifying it using evidence. Is there a more relevant subject?!