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History
- History pictures -
History and Politics Blog
The Department
The History and Politics Department comprises of five specialist
teachers and a well-resourced departmental teaching area. All of the department's
four dedicated teaching rooms have digital projectors and interactive
whiteboards. In addition there is a reference room for History and Politics
sixth form students which is equipped with four computers and the latest
copies and back issues of History and Politics magazines. There is also
a wide range of appropriate reference material available in the school
library.
From the Battle of Hastings to the Renaissance in Year 7, from the Reformation
to the Industrial Revolution in Year 8, from slavery and the struggle
for civil rights to atomic power in Year 9, students follow the varieties
of human experience - the good and the bad, the political, social, economic
and cultural, in Britain and around the world.
All students follow the National Curriculum in these years, and the majority
opt to continue to GCSE (AQA), in which they learn about the Twentieth
Century World. Current topics include: The Cold War 1945-1991, the Russian
Revolution, Hitler's Germany, the Vietnam War and life in Britain during
the First and Second World Wars.
AS and A Level History (AQA) and Government and Politics (Edexcel) are
both popular choices. The former focuses on 16th century Britain and the
emergence of Liberal Democracies across the world at AS level, while at
A2 students extend their knowledge of 16th century Britain and study aspects
of 20th century Russian History. AS Level Government and Politics focuses
on the British experience in Year 12 and then introduces a study of the
government and politics of the USA in Year 13.
The History and Politics Department have a blog (http://nonsuchhp.blogspot.com)
which covers items of interest in the news, the latest academic research
and links to useful resources. It has developed a range of resources that
can be viewed on Frog, the school's new Virtual Learning Environment.
In addition to studying History in the classroom we aim to offer enrichment
activities wherever possible. In the past two years these have included:
- Year 7 visit to Rochester in Kent to support study of Medieval life
- Year 9 visit to the National Army Museum to learn more about life
in World War 1
- Year 12 trip to Parliament
- Year 13 visit to Washington DC
The
History and Politics Department have a blog which can be followed at:
www.nonsuchhp.blogspot.com
RSS
Here
is a recent entry
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Here
is a fascinating article about Nonsuch Palace, from which our school
of course takes its name. It explains how the palace was designed
as a "privy palace" for Henry VIII - built exclusively for
his private enjoyment. It was therefore quite small compared to more
public palaces like Whitehall but was very lavishly furnished. Construction
began in 1541 and when Henry took his courtiers to see it 4 years
later tents had to be erected to accommodate everyone. Eventually
it was completed in 1548, by which time Henry had died and his son
Edward VI was too young to appreciate it. Mary Tudor sold it to the
Earl of Arundel, but Elizabeth I reacquired it towards the end of
her reign. It was eventually given by Charles II to his mistress,
the Duchess of Cleveland, who had it demolished and sold off to pay
off her gambling debts. Some of the interior of the palace can now
be seen in Loseley House, near Guildford and some of its objects are
in the Whitehall Museum in Cheam and the British Museum in London.
The
blog where this article comes from is an excellent piece of
work dedicated to Anne Boleyn (who died on 19 May - this blog's
birthday!) with links to contemporary documents and more recent
films and novels about her life. The article also includes video
from the "Time Team" programme on Nonsuch Palace and a
link to
a walk that you can take around the site in Nonsuch Park so
you can imagine what life must have been like there as a Tudor hunting
ground.
PS: Further information about the palace can be seen
here, and an article about an impressive model of it that was
made recently can be read
here.
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