The Humanities Department is committed to ensuring that all our pupils make steadfast progress in History, Geography, RVE and PSE through the experience of excellent teaching which engages, inspires and motivates them. All learners will have the opportunity to continue studying Humanities subjects to GCSE and A-Level; they will become capable learners, a skill which will help them throughout their lives. The Humanities Department wishes to nurture a sense of cynefin in our learners. This is the place where our learners feel they belong, where the people and landscape around them are familiar and the sights and sounds are reassuringly recognisable. Cynefin is not just a place in a physical or geographical sense: it is the historic, cultural and social place which has shaped and continues to shape the community our learners reside in. In tandem, we aim to nurture a curiosity about Wales and the wider world, sending our learners out to be valued members of society, global citizens in the multicultural and diverse world of the 21st century.
The Humanities Department plays an important role in readying our learners for adult life. It consists of five disciplinary areas:
Geography, History and Religion, Values and Ethics sit within the Humanities Area of Learning and Experience, whilst Personal and Social Education sits across the Humanities AoLE and the Health and Wellbeing AoLE as this discipline is both an area of social study and a medium for developing the knowledge and understanding of our learners in terms of their physical development, mental health, emotional and social well-being.
Dr Sian James (SEJ)
Head of Humanities, Teacher i/c WBQ and Skills Challenge Certificate, Teacher of Humanities (Humanities specialist)
Mrs Jane Jarvis (JJ)
Teacher of Geography, Teacher of the Tourism Diploma, Sustainable Development Coordinator
Mr Adam Campion (AC)
Teacher of Geography, Assistant Headteacher
Mr Nick Rees (NR)
Teacher of History
Mr Colin McKibben (CM)
Teacher of History, Teacher of WBQ, and Skills Challenge Certificate
Mr Richard Dennis (RD)
Teacher i/c RVE / Religious Studies, Teacher of RVE / Religious Studies, Teacher of WBQ and Skills Challenge Certificate
Mrs Rebecca Greenow (RG)
Teacher of Humanities, (History specialist)
Miss Catrin Owen (CMO)
Teacher of Humanities, Teacher of the Tourism Diploma (Geography specialist)
Miss Maria Senior (MLS)
Teacher of Humanities,
Year 7
Within the Humanities AoLE we have chosen nine overarching concepts through which we will deliver our curriculum as discrete, but interlinked disciplines. Together they contribute to realising the four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales.
Humanities @YBE Overarching Concepts:
Cynefin / Conflict / Change and Continuity / Development / Inequality / Journeys / The elements / People Power / Material World.
We have designed a curriculum where cross-curricular skills, integral skills and cross-cutting themes will be delivered seamlessly through our lessons helping our learners to develop the skills necessary to interpret and articulate the past and the present whilst imagining possible futures. Year 7 Geography topics include Cynefin and Connections, Weather, Climate and Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Year 7 History topics include Conquest and Cynefin, Medieval Life in Britain and Explorers. Year 7 RVE topics include Cynefin, Christianity Past, Present and Future and The Path to Enlightenment. Year 7 PSE topics include Safe Relationships, Anti-Bullying Awareness, Online Safety and Healthy Lifestyles.
Year 8 and 9
With an eye on the future, our Year 8 and 9 Humanities curriculum is currently being re-designed in line with the new Curriculum for Wales. KS3 Geography topics include Italy, Natural Hazards, Industry, India, Fluvial Environments and ‘Where do people live?’ KS3 History topics include The Tudors, The Stuarts, The Industrial Revolution, The British Empire, Slavery, The Great War and World War 2. KS3 RVE topics include Religious Buildings, Religious Festivals, Sacred Texts, Medical Ethics, Inequality, Stewardship and Religious Ceremonies. KS3 PSE topics include Multicultural Britain, The Criminal Justice System, Living in a Democracy, Consumer Rights, Looking After Our Money, Careers, Substance Misuse and Mental Health.
Our KS3 Humanities curriculum aims to help learners appreciate the extent to which they are part of a wider international community, fostering a sense of belonging that we hope will encourage them to contribute positively to their communities both now and in the future. We hope to contribute to the development of healthy, confident individuals, ready to lead fulfilling lives both in the workplace and as valued members of society.
Years 10 and 11
GCSE History
The WJEC GCSE in History encourages learners to develop an understanding of its intrinsic value whilst developing and extending their knowledge and understanding of specific historical events, periods and societies. Learners will acquire an understanding of different identities, including their own, and an appreciation of social, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity whilst building on their understanding of the past and the diversity of human experience.
The course is divided into four units: Unit 1: Depression, War and Recovery, 1930-1951 (Wales and the wider perspective); Unit 2: The USA - A Nation of Contrasts, 1910-1929; Unit 3: Changes in Crime and Punishment, c.1500 to the present day and Unit 4: Working as an historian (NEA).
Skills development focuses largely on the analysis and evaluation of historical sources and interpretations. Second order historical concepts e.g. cause and consequence, change and continuity, and historical significance are also developed throughout the course.
Years 12 and 13
Sixth Form
History GCE AS/A Level
The AS/A level History specification promotes the integrated study of history. It enables learners to study specific aspects of the past in breadth and in depth, study change over a period of time both long term and short term and study the nature and purpose of history as a discipline and how historians work.
This approach encourages the acquisition of a wide range of historical knowledge and a full range of transferrable skills which will complement the study of other Arts based subjects. The AS course includes a Period Study: Politics, People and Progress in Wales and England c.1880-1980 which considers topics such as the changing position of political parties, the impact of war on society and the impact of war on the changing role and status of women; and a Depth Study: Weimar and its Challenges c.1918-1933 which considers topics such as the challenges facing the new democracy, the role of Gustav Stresemann and the rise of the Nazis.
The A2 course includes a Breadth Study: Parliamentary Reform and Protest in Wales and England c.1780-1885 which looks at topics such as the causes and consequences of parliamentary reform, the Luddite movement, the Merthyr rising and the Rebecca riots; a Depth Study: Nazi Germany c.1933-1945 which considers topics such as Hitler’s consolidation of power and Nazi racial ideology; and a NEA based on a study of different historical interpretations
