1. Why GCSE History?
Students should have a desire to know more! They should want to understand why people used ancient medical ideas two hundred year ago or why the German people chose to vote Hitler into power.
They should have good communication skills, enjoy reading books and watching film clips that deal with events in history.
They should have the ability to balance an argument but also to understand why people have very different interpretations of the same event.
Finally they should have an enquiring mind and want to investigate further. 
This subject is an excellent foundation for the study of A Level History; the successful completion of which will provide a wide range of opportunities at University. 
It is a useful foundation for other humanities subject such as Geography, Religious Education, Politics, Law, Sociology and Archaeology.
Students will find the range of communication skills that are taught valuable in careers such as the law, newspaper and television journalism as well as more obvious opportunities in teaching, archaeology, museums and libraries

2. Edexcel GCSE – 3 exam papers in year 11
British Thematic Study with historic Environment – Medicine in Britain 1250 – present day with
The British sector of the Western Front: injuries, treatment and the trenches. (30%)
Paper 2:
Period Study and British Depth Study – The American West (20%) with British Depth study – Early Elizabethan England (20%)
Paper 3:
Modern Depth Study – Weimar and Nazi Germany (30%)

3. Describe it to the person next to you.
The image will flash up for 10 seconds and then you have 30 seconds to remember as much as possible.
Describe it to the person next to you.

4. Periods you will study: Medieval England The Renaissance in England
Paper 1: British Thematic Study with historic Environment – Medicine in Britain 1250 – present day
Periods you will study:
Medieval England
The Renaissance in England
Medicine in the Industrial period
Medicine in Modern Britain

5. Your study will include:
Paper 1: British Thematic Study with historic Environment – Medicine in Britain 1250 – present day
Your study will include:
Natural and supernatural approaches to medicine
The Black Death
The rebirth of the Renaissance
Florence Nightingale
Jenner
Cholera
Penicillin
NHS

6. Your study will include: Battles of WW1 Conditions in the trenches
Paper 1: British Thematic Study with historic Environment – The Western Front in WW1 – injuries, treatment and trenches
Your study will include:
Battles of WW1
Conditions in the trenches
Wounds from rifles and explosives
Surgical advances in WW1 Such as x-rays, blood banks and plastic surgery
Source analysis…

7. How the West was won

8. Period Study and British Depth Study – The American West 1835-1895
Paper 2:
Period Study and British Depth Study – The American West
Your study will include:
The early settlement of the West, including a study of the Native American people. Social and tribal structures and the way they survived on the Plain for 1000’s of years.
The clash between the white settlers and the Native Americans – including battles such as the Battle of the Little bighorn
Changes in the use of the land – cattle, gold and railroads.

9. Paper 2:
Period Study and British Depth Study - Early Elizabethan England 1558 – 1588
Your study will include:
The Virgin Queen – her strength, relationships and gender
Religious divisions in England
Mary Queen of scots – her challenge and her execution
Attacks from Scotland and Spain
Life in Elizabethan times – education, poverty, technology and exploration

10. Modern Depth Study – Weimar and Nazi Germany 1918-1939 (30%)
The Rise of Hitler - 5 minutes
Paper 3:
Modern Depth Study – Weimar and Nazi Germany (30%)
Your study will include:
The conditions in Germany in 1918
The Weimar Government
The treat of Versailles
Problems Germany faces in the 1920’s
Hitler and the rise of the Nazi Party
The use of fear in Nazi Germany
The role of women and children
The persecution of minorities

11. Why GCSE History? Is this the subject for me?
The course is very varied in content – don’t choose this just because you like to study Germany. There is much more to it than that…
Some of the skills you have practised at KS3 are employed at GCSE – description, explanation, balanced arguments, interpretations and inferences. However, you must be prepared to learn new skills
It is hard graft. It is hard to achieve a top grade in History GCSE and it doesn’t happen by accident.
You will be expected to think about the quality of your communication as well as your History knowledge and skills.
But it is a brilliant GCSE if you are up for it…