History
Is the work of the historian harder today considering the range and depth of information we have at our fingertips?
Leeds, Bradford, Hull and East Yorkshire Code
Course Information
All secondary trainees receive 2 hours of subject training per week, led by a highly experienced subject leader, who has a strong track-record of outstanding results in schools in the GORSE Academies Trust. As part of our subject knowledge enhancement, we will have the opportunity to immerse ourselves within the past, utilising current historiography to develop our understanding of events. To give students a lens from the past to view the modern day through is as important as it ever has been. Our vision as future History teachers and leaders focuses on explaining the world as it is by investigating the world as it was, in a curious, ambitious and challenging way. Furthermore, we continually strive to build our knowledge and understanding and that of our pupils encompassing a spine of British History whilst exploring global and local scales all the while contesting the nature of History. We continually aspire to develop in our students disciplinary thinking and questioning, viewing the past from multifaceted perspectives. We aim to craft a rich, relevant and diverse understanding of the past so that pupils who we teach History become fully rounded citizens who understand themselves, the world around them and their place within it. We strive to hone pupils’ historical knowledge, fan their curiosity so that we strengthen their communication to support forming their own identity to empower them to question and challenge. As a History trainee, your weekly subject knowledge session will build upon your passion for history and will include a range of different delivery methods including lecture-based learning, modelling the delivery of lessons, activities and independent task work, presentations, role play and opportunities to work with external providers like the Holocaust Educational Trust. Every session will include a ‘subject surgery’ whereby you can ask specific questions about content, lessons, skills, marking and any other areas which they find challenging, and they will be given guidance and support on this.
Meet the History Subject Lead
Sam Vickers
Over the course of the academic year, trainees will learn the key principles which are fundamental to our discipline, whilst bolstering their substantive knowledge of a range of historical events on the National Curriculum. Underpinning our curriculum are some of the key principles outlined by the Schools History Project, an organisation which believes the study of history in schools is ‘more vital than ever’. An experienced teacher of history will use their extensive knowledge of historical events, combined with their expert understanding of the core disciplinary concepts, to instil a passion for the past and a real sense of ‘awe and wonder’ within lessons.
Trainees will learn that school history should be meaningful and enable young people to better understand their world; discover how history should involve disciplined enquiry to enable young people to develop ideas and opinions about the past; be afforded with experience in how to teach history, which is both broad and inclusive, to reflect the diversity of modern Britain and build both a knowledge and respect for those who lived in the past; learn how to enable young people to see history in the environment around them and above all learn that school history should be enjoyable, accessible and life enhancing for all. In addition to this strong disciplinary focus, trainees will also have opportunities to enhance their subject knowledge throughout the curriculum.
To support the journey to becoming a teacher, every aspect of the teaching journey will be broken down and fully mastered before trying to acquire new skills. For instance, trainees will demonstrate how to effectively sequence lessons, and this will form part of building an appreciation of the importance of ‘enquiry based’ history, which promotes the notion of history as a ‘puzzle’, which must be solved.
When personalised support is required, the subject training sessions are adapted and amended to ensure that trainees are given guidance on any assignments or challenging lessons they might need. Within subject knowledge sessions, there will be dedicated time to reflect, discuss and refine lessons and there will always be a clear focus on putting into practice the content from the session.
