Year 12 — History

Term 1: Henry VII - Part 1 / The American colonies by 1763

In Term 1, the students begin their Paper 1 and Paper 2 courses. In Paper 1, the students learn about Henry VII's rise and consolidation of power. Within this, the students explore Henry's approach to controlling the nobility, the modernisation of the royal finances, and the arrangement of dynastic marriages both within England and in continental Europe. In Paper 2, the students learn about the nature of the Thirteen Colonies in British North America. There is a study of the different governments, economies, societies, and cultures of the colonies. As well as learning about the events and the outcome of the French and Indian War against France, and ultimately the relationship with Great Britain up until 1763. Within both courses, the students will explore the following second-order concepts alongside the historical context: change and continuity, cause and consequence, significance, and similarities and differences.

20-mark source question in class.

Colony

a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country and occupied by settlers from that country.

Thirteen Colonies

The thirteen British colonies on east coast of North America, which eventually became the United States of America.

Proprietary colonies

Colonies in which the Crown had vested political authority in the hands of certain families: the Calverts (in Maryland) and the Penns (in Pennsylvania and Delaware).

Franchise

The right to vote.

Militia

A force, make up of all military aged civilians, called out in times of emergency.

Bastard feudalism

When the nobility use their wealth to pay for private soldiers.

Pretender

Someone who pretends to be a prince/king.

Wardship

When a young noble inherits his lands and and titles before the age of 18, the king will ensure the boy is looked after, but would take the young lord’s income as payment until he ‘comes of age’.

Feudal dues

The income received by a lord for various historical feudal payments, such as a marriage fee when a vassal marries.

Intercursus Magnus

The first trade agreement with Burgundy that brought the embargo to an end.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Students develop in depth analytical source and essay-writing skills.

Create a supportive community:

Students learn about British values and the rule of law and democracy.

Term 2: Henry VII - Part 2 / The causes of the American Revolution

In Term 2, the students continue their Paper 1 and Paper 2 courses. In Paper 1, the students continue to learn about the reign of Henry VII after his initial consolidation of power. This includes the study of his foreign policy towards Spain, France and the Holy Roman Empire, an exploration of English society during the early 16th century, and the state of the Roman Catholic Church in England up to 1509. In Paper 2, the students explore the breakdown in the relationship between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain and the causes of the revolution. The students will learn about the Stamp Act, the Townshend Act, and the Boston Tea Party and how these events contributed to the outbreak of war, in addition to the long-term causes prior to 1763. Within both courses, the students will explore the following second-order concepts alongside the historical context: change and continuity, cause and consequence, and significance.

25-mark AQA A-level essay.

Parliamentary sanction

Official ratification of a law given by Parliament.

Act of Attainder

Declaring a landowner guilty of rebelling against a monarch and making them an enemy of the state; their lands and sometimes lives could be forfeit.

Mercenaries

Hired soldiers

Household government

Medieval system of government where the adult male head of a family had control over everyone living on his land.

Magnate

the higher ranks of nobility

National debt

The money borrowed by a government and not yet paid back.

Frontiersmen

People who lived close to the colonial borders or in Native American territory and who were able to survive in what was often a hostile environment.

Arbitrary power

Power that is not bound by rules, allowing monarchies to do as they wish.

Stamp duty

A tax on legal documents, its payment being confirmed by the affixation of a stamp.

Liberty Tree

An actual (but also symbolic) tree in Boston, Massachusetts, representing freedom from tyranny.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Essay writing, analytical thinking skills.

Create a supportive community:

Understanding the background of parliamentary institutions and the development of key cultural ideas such as the Renaissance.

Term 3: Henry VIII - Part 1 / Declaration of Independence

In Term 3, the students continue their Paper 1 and Paper 2 courses. In Paper 1, the students learn about the early years of Henry VIII's reign. This includes Henry's personal character and aims as a young monarch and his approach to the legacy of his father, both in terms of royal finances and foreign policy. Furthermore, the students learn about the changes to the England government and the break with Rome. In Paper 2, the students learn about the Thirteen Colonies' formal declaration of independence from Great Britain and its evolution into becoming the United States of America. The students also learn about the outbreak of war between the new nation of the United States and Great Britain and the early events of the fighting in the war. Within both courses, the students will explore the following second-order concepts alongside the historical context: change and continuity, cause and consequence, and significance.

Students are assessed through a combination of discursive essay and evaluative source questions, in the style of the AQA exam.

Conciliar government

A government ran by a collective council.

Thomas Wolsey

Henry VIII's chief minister in the early part of his reign.

Council Learned in Law

The council used by Henry VII that Henry VIII dissolved due to its corruption and unpopularity.

Empson and Dudley

Two very unpopular tax collectors executed by Henry VIII in his first year of his reign.

Royal almoner

A distributer of money to the poor on behalf of the king.

Minutemen

Men who were pledged to rush to America's defence at a minute's notice.

Loyalists

Those Americans who supported Britain, also called 'Torys'.

Divine right of kings

The view that kings ruled by the authority of God rather than by the consent of the people.

Patriots

People who support the revolution against Great Britain.

Olive Branch Petition

A last attempt by the American Congress to agree to a deal with King George III to avoid war.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Understanding of essay writing and communication skills, including analytical and advanced literacy skills.

Create a supportive community:

The students understand the consequences of civil war within a country.

Term 4: Henry VIII - Part 2 / The War of Independence

In Term 4, the students continue their Paper 1 and Paper 2 courses. In Paper 1, the students continue to learn about the reign of Henry VIII. They explore his foreign policy approach in relation to France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Papacy and the impact it had on Henry's stability as a monarch. The students also learn about the changes to English society and the rebellions and disorders that occurred during Henry VIII's reign. In Paper 2, the students learn about the main events of the Revolutionary War. This includes the main battles, the French intervention, and the factors why Washington's Continental Army ultimately won the war, despite the many disadvantages it faced. Within both courses, the students will explore the following second-order concepts alongside the historical context: change and continuity, cause and consequence, and significance.

Assessment via A Level-style practice questions.

Feudal system

Medieval social system dependent on land-owning in return for duties, labour or payment.

Peerage

Members of the House of Lords; nobles.

Grazing rights

The right of a farmer to allow his livestock to feed on an area's grass.

Merchants of the Staple

A company incorporated by Royal Charter which controlled the export of wool. Based in Calais until Calais was lost to the French.

Scholasticism

A system of philosophical analysis in the medieval period.

Hessians

German auxiliaries who fought for Britain and hired mercenaries.

Ships of the line

The great wooden battleship employed from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries.

Privateers

Privately owned vessels granted permission by a government to capture enemy ships.

Guerilla war

Warfare by which small units harass conventional forces.

Trans-Appalachian region

The land west of the Appalachian mountains.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Analytical and sophisticated literacy skills, marshaling an argument.

Create a supportive community:

Understanding the consequences of war on society.

Term 5: Henry VIII - Part 3 / NEA Russia

In Term 5, the students continue with Paper 1 and begin their NEA (coursework) on the way Russia was ruled between 1855-1953. In Paper 1, the students explore the economic change and development in England during Henry VIII's reign and the changes to the English Church after the break with Rome. The students also learn about the development of humanism in England during the first half of the 16th century.

For the NEA course, the following themes are taught:

- Political Liberalisation

- Autocracy

- Russification

- Economy

- Repression & Censorship

The following skills are taught:

- content analysis

- source analysis

- historical interpretation evaluation

Students write essays using AQA criteria; source evaluation and causation / analysis tasks.

Humanism

A philosophical stance that emphasises the individual and social potential and agency of human beings.

Aristocracy

The wealthy landowners who hold a title of the peerage.

Protestantism

A religious movement that challenged the orthodoxy of the Catholic Church.

Act of Six Articles

The move from minor protestantism to back to traditional Catholicism in all but name.

Bishop's Book

A protestant-leaning book issued under Henry VIII.

Autocratic

When there is no limit on the ruler's power, such a ruler was called an autocrat.

Military colony

Where the conscripts lived (with their families) and trained, all under the strict military discipline.

Heathen

A 'non believer' according to the judgement of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Okhrana

The secret police used under the reign of Alexander III and Nicholas II.

Serf

An unfree peasant in Russian.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Students further develop their independent research and literacy skills tasks.

Create a supportive community:

The students learn about the development and change of society in Russia and how it can be compared to society in Britain today.

Term 6: Edward VI and Mary I / NEA Russia

In Term 6, the students continue with Paper 1 and their NEA (coursework) on the way Russia was ruled between 1855-1953. In Paper 1, the students explore the short reigns of King Edward VI and Mary I. This includes learning about the approach to foreign policy, royal finances, rebellion, religion, and disorder during both of their reigns. Moreover, the students learn about the changes in English society and the economy during the mid-Tudor period.

For the NEA course, the following themes are taught:

- Political Liberalisation

- Autocracy

- Russification

- Economy

- Repression & Censorship

The following skills are taught:

- content analysis

- source analysis

- historical interpretation evaluation

Students complete essay writing tasks in line with AQA criteria.

Purgatory

In Catholic thinking, where souls waited to be purified before they went to heaven.

Diocese

An area in the Church governed by a Bishop.

Metallurgy

Scientific study of extraction, refining, alloying and fabricating metals.

Bull

A formal letter from the Pope.

Papal legate

Personal representative of the Pope.

Provisional Government

The interim government after the abdication of Nicholas II.

Cheka

The secret deployed by Lenin after the Russian Revolution.

Nepmen

Speculative traders who brought up produce from the peasants to sell in the towns to sell in the peasant markets.

Burzhui

This term was used against aristocrats, priests and merchants, who were considered against peasant prosperity.

Proletarianisation

To turn the mass of the population into urban workers; it was believed that the masses had to be proletarians in order to create a socialist - and ultimately, communist state.

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Students learn important essay writing skills, important for University studies.

Create a supportive community:

Students work collaboratively with each other in group and pair tasks.

:

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Create a supportive community:

:

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Create a supportive community:

:

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Create a supportive community:

Students understand and contextualize religious difference and debate.

:

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Create a supportive community:

:

  • Spiritual
  • Moral
  • Social
  • Cultural

Develop the individual:

Create a supportive community: