History

WELCOME TO THE HISTORY PAGE

Mrs. Geoghegan - History Subject Leader

I have been fortunate to lead the subject of history at St. Bede’s for over 10 years now and, during that time, our curriculum has evolved considerably.

In 2017, we were awarded the Historical Association’s Silver Quality Mark for our provision in history, which we maintained at reassessment in 2021. To achieve this award, all aspects of our curriculum were examined by a senior member of the Historical Association, including teaching and learning in history, leadership of the subject and how we enhance learning beyond the classroom for our children. Our next reassessment  in May, 2024 celebrated our continued efforts to develop history further.  We are delighted to have achieved History Quality Mark - Gold; the only School in Halton to attain a Gold Award!

When they join St. Bede’s Juniors, Year 3 and 4 pupils will learn about British history in chronological order, from the Stone Age through to the Viking invasions. Then, in Years 5 and 6, pupils learn more about Britain beyond 1066 with a study of the British Empire and the Battle of Britain. They also learn about the growth of Widnes, as the chemical industry caused significant development in our local area during the later years of the Industrial Revolution. Year 6 pupils will learn about some of the ancient civilisations in the wider world, including the Maya civilisation and the Shang Dynasty. When learning about history in the wider world, our aim is to make links with previous learning in British history, so that children can make comparisons between the achievements and lifestyles of different groups of people who were active in our world at the same time.

Our history and geography curriculums are closely linked and the enquiries that the children undertake in one subject will often complement each other. For example, in the enquiry ‘How did the arrival of the Romans change Britain?’, children are required to use maps and atlases to identify the significance of the Roman Empire before Britain was invaded. This supports the development of locational knowledge and fieldwork skills in geography.  Miss Canavan, the Subject Leader for geography, and I work closely together to ensure that each of the subjects form a balanced humanities curriculum. We recently were also awarded a Geographical Association Bronze Quality Mark for our work in geography; the first Quality Mark we have held in Geography. An action from both the History and Geography Quality Mark feedback reports was to promote history and geography further beyond the classroom and into the wider community. Miss Canavan and I are working hard to identify some ways that we can do this together, so watch this space for more details!

It is a real pleasure to lead the subject of history at St. Bede’s. Our pupils (and teachers!) are so enthusiastic about their learning and we have many, many knowledgeable young historians amongst our school community. They certainly inspire me to want to know more about our past and what we can learn from it.

Below are a selection of websites that pupils can use to enhance and deepen their historical knowledge. If you have any questions about history at St. Bede's, please email [email protected] 

BBC History         National Archives   Liverpool World Museum  

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