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Click here to download Year 8 Revision Notes  as a PDF file. 
Click here to download the History Curriculum Summaries.

Aims: We aim to prepare children for both Common Entrance and scholarships to a wide range of schools from the very academic to the less academic. We also aim to prepare children to take up the GCSE course at Cranbrook, which is the local grammar school.

We want the children to enjoy the subject and hope to inspire them to read more about History. We try to give them an overview of as much English History as possible so that they have a good knowledge of Medieval and Early Modern History before they move onto the diet of Twentieth Century History that constitutes much of the GCSE syllabus.

Teaching Methods: A range of teaching methods is adopted from the traditional to the more innovative using ICT and even History games on the internet. Traditional essay writing and learning of facts play an important part in preparing for exams.

We try to cater for the full range of pupils that we have at the school with tailor-made approaches and resources.

There are visits to sites of historical interest in all the year groups in Upper School. We also have visiting experts and specialists who come to the school and provide hands-on experience and a chance to empathise by dressing up in the relevant period costumes.

Scholars generally take part in the Townsend-Warner History prize for IAPS prep schools country-wide. This helps them to improve their general historical knowledge, which is so important in most scholarship exams.

Common Entrance: This is a challenging paper for all but the most able but experience has indicated that by the end of Year 8, many candidates can achieve A and B grades.

It consists of a vast choice of essay question arranged generically. The candidate must answer ONE essay question. There is also a choice of three evidence questions which are based on historical sources. The candidate must answer ONE evidence question.

Technique plays a large part in success in this exam. Making the right choice of topics to revise and then selecting the right essay question to answer is important. These choices are highly individual.

Example of essay question:

Government/Parliament

Choose one king who faced revolt by his barons or his people, such as

William II, John, Henry III, Richard II or another you have studied from this period.

(a) Describe how the revolt started. (15)
(b) Explain the results of the revolt. (10)

Examples of evidence questions: (There are always three sources provided to interpret)

A.1. Look at Source A. When was Harold made King of England? (2)

A.3. Look at Source C. Does it support Source A or Source B about Harold’s crowning? Give reasons for your answer. (6)

A.5. ‘Harold was the rightful king of England’. Using all the sources and your own knowledge, explain how much you agree with this statement. (8)

Scholarship: These papers vary considerably depending on the school. They generally require interpretation of sources which are often based upon topics that the candidates are unlikely to have studied.

There is always a requirement to write at least one essay although there is plenty of choice to cater for the different topics studied at different schools. The essays are more analytical in their demands rather then narrative. They also emphasise the candidate’s knowledge of how History works and can therefore be questions about the value of archaeology for example.

T P H Wigram
Head of History

YEAR 6 WORLD WAR 2 EXPERIENCE

YEAR 5 VISIT FROM MEXICOLORE

Year 5's study of the Aztecs includes a memorable talk by Mexicolore.  Aspects of Aztec life are shown to the children, many are dressed in Aztec costume and take part in a wonderful musical finale.

YEAR 5 also visited Penshurst Place

SCHOLARSHIP PAPER (COMMON ACADEMIC)

Write an essay explaining the significance of  the divorce of Catherine of Aragon by Henry VIII:

ANSWER:

The divorce of Catherine of Aragon played a very significant part in the religious history of England.

Henry divorced Catherine after 20 years of marriage, as she had only had one daughter and needed a son. Henry needed a son as an heir to the throne and was aware the country was not prepared to be ruled by a weaker Queen. Henry wondered, since the divorce was really illegal at the start, but was allowed by the Pope, that he had been cursed which was why he had no son. Henry also fell in love with Ann Boleyn. Wolsey (Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the King’s Chief Minister) encouraged the divorce as he wanted to make a political alliance with France through marriage. The Pope refused the marriage, since he was the ‘prisoner’ of Charles V who was the nephew of Catherine of Aragon. The Pope appointed Wolsey, and an Italian Cardinal (Campeggio) to deal with the affair. However, there was much delay and Henry decided to ask the universities of Europe to decide whether the marriage had been legal or not. However, there was a lot of division so Thomas Cromwell advised Henry to break with the Church of Rome completely.

This was done under a number of Acts and decrees. The Act of Praemunire meant that the monks and priests did not swear allegiance to the Pope, but to Henry. In 1534, Henry was made Supreme Head of the Church of England. This act of supremacy denied the authority of the Pope in England. The Act of Annates meant that no taxes were paid to the Pope.

The divorce from Catherine of Aragon meant that Henry was made the Supreme Head of the Church of England. This gave him the power to carry out the Dissolution of the Monasteries – a major event in the history of England. It changed the churches of England completely, and other significant changes were that the first legal translation of the Bible into English was changed. Even today, the Queen is head of the Church of England.

Alice Marshall (Year 8 2004)

Examiner’s comments:

The key word in the question is ‘significance’. To answer the question adequately, it will be necessary to demonstrate knowledge of the event in question and make some deductions to assess significance. The whole should be written in simple fluent English.

Factors to consider:

This is written under time constraints and under pressure.

The age and relative immaturity of candidates.

Assessment:

A valid and brief comment at the beginning sets up the meat of the essay nicely.

Main paragraph – this is excellent narrative setting the context of the divorce and displaying detailed knowledge of the material. The narrative is fluent and the flow logical implying that the candidate has a real understanding of the material.

Second main paragraph – this deals with the first significant consequence by explaining how it happened. All main points are made accurately and simply and again the depth of knowledge is apparent. The brevity suggests awareness of time constraints. Technical terms are used impressively and with accuracy.

Final paragraph – this is a broader analysis of the significance and again displays breadth of knowledge and awareness of longer term significance.

Overall, it is easy to follow and well written. A good brain making light work of potentially difficult material.

In the Spring Term Year 6 attended a WORLD WAR 2 WORKSHOP where they experienced the conditions of civilians and soldiers
in the Second World War

Children might enjoy trying their luck at the following quiz sheet on the English Civil War:

CAUSES OF ENGLISH CIVIL WAR(S)

PUZZLE

1.     Match the following events to the dates in the right hand column. (Draw lines)

(8)

2.     Now match the causes in the left hand column with the effects in the right column.
(Use numbers) (8)

3.     Match the following with their definitions on the right: (use colours) (12)

4.     Rewrite the following in chronological order: (7)

The Bill of Rights
The First Bishops War
The Short Parliament
The Murder of Buckingham
The Dissolution of 1626 Parliament
The calling of Long Parliament
The execution of Strafford

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TOTAL [35]

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (CIVIL WAR SO FAR)

1. Charles I was married to Henrietta Maria ( )

2. Henrietta Maria was a protestant. ( )

Copy out the sentence and then complete it with the correct answer:

3. The Short Parliament was called ‘Short’ because:

a)     The MPs in that Parliament were short.
b)    That parliament lasted a short time.
c)     Historians were looking for a name for it and chose short randomly.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.Charles did not dissolve the Long Parliament because:

a)     He liked them.
b)    He couldn’t dissolve them because he needed them for money.
c)    He was told not to dissolve them by the Earl of Strafford.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.     The Long Parliament was called in;

a)     November 1639.
b)    January 1640.
c)    November 1640.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

6.     The Long Parliament was called because:

a)     Scotland had invaded the north of England.
b)    Scotland had demanded £25,000 a month from Charles to withdraw from England.
c)    Charles was sorry that he had dissolved the Short Parliament a few months before.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7.     The Scots rebelled because;

a)     They didn’t want the English Prayer Book forced upon them.
b)    They wanted land in the north of England and invaded.
c)    They didn’t like Charles.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8.     Charles called the Earl of Strafford back from Ireland because;

a)     Strafford was his best general and a friend.
b)    Charles was going to sack him after trouble in Ireland.
c)    Charles needed him because he didn’t have an effective army to deal with the Scots.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9.     Parliament, led by John Pym, were anxious to execute Strafford because;

a)     They didn’t like what he had been doing in Ireland.
b)    They were afraid that he might use his army against them.
c)    They wanted to get back at Charles and knew he was Charles’ friend.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford was executed in;

a)     April 1641.
b)    October 1640.
c)    June 1641.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TOTAL (10)