How History is taught at Hurtwood

Teaching takes place in small classes of between 10 and 12 students. In the classroom the emphasis is very much on "active learning". Debate and discussion are absolutely essential ingredients of good history, and students are very much encouraged to take part in these activities. We also carry out roleplay exercises in class on such events as the Suez Canal crisis. It's a good job that the students don't own any weapons, as they get quite swept away by the force of their arguments and by doing so come to realise how conflict comes about - and also how each side believes itself to be implacably in the right! You will also be expected to use historical methodology, by examination of documents. The documents at A-level are mainly primary ones and the student is expected to develop considerable powers of deduction and evaluation in order to "read between the lines" and establish the value and reliability of a document to the historian. Documents are, of course, the key to the study of History and as such provide perhaps the most fascinating element of the course as they are "voices from the past" and we need to learn to examine them as a lawyer would a witness in a trial.

A feature of the A-level course at Hurtwood House is the way in which students are able to learn about the subject from visiting speakers, by going to subject conferences and by visits to places such as the Imperial War Museum where specialist information is available. The History Department also makes annual trips abroad and in the last few years has been to Berlin, Munich, Prague, Moscow, St Petersburg, Normandy and Rome.  These trips are of immense educational value and the students also find them extremely enjoyable – the best possible way in which to learn History.  In February 2009 the Department is planning a trip to India, which should be truly enthralling for the students.

Specification

At Hurtwood we study both the 19th and 20th centuries, with a strong emphasis on the latter period and on a global view of events.  Students can relate more effectively to these time periods than, say, the medieval period.  The philosophy behind teaching the Modern period is that all the students will have a far more informed perception of the world they live in, and will be able to follow Current Affairs with far greater appreciation than those with only a shallow and Euro-centred knowledge of the present day.

AS History

The specifications for History are changing in September 2008 and this will have a significant impact on what is taught in the first year of A level History. 

At present we study three units for AS:

Unit 1:  The Seeds of Evil – The Rise of the Nazis, 1918-33

Unit 2:  Mussolini and the Rise of Fascism in Italy, 1918-25

Unit 2:  Life in Nazi Germany, 1933-39

But from September 2008 we will be studying only TWO units for the AS and we have decided to offer some highly topical and intriguing areas of study:

Unit 1: This has two options which must be studied:

• Equality in the USA, 1945-68 (Civil Rights)
• The USA in Asia, 1950-73 –  Conflicts in Korea and Vietnam

Unit 2: Britain and the Nationalist Challenge in India, 1900-47

At present we study ‘Conflict in Korea and Vietnam’ in the A2 year and it has been an immensely popular course and produced some 1st rate exam results.  However, ‘Civil Rights in the US’ will be new to us and we are looking forward to teaching it. India is studied at present in the second year as part of the Unit on Empire and it has proved a real eye-opener for the majority of students with many of them going to India as part of their Gap Year travels and experience

A2 History

For the A2 course at present we study three units which will also be taught in the academic year 2008-2009, as the legacy A Level is phased out:

Unit 4: The USA in Asia, 1950-73.  Conflicts in Korea and Vietnam

Unit 5: The British Empire and Decolonisation, 1870-1980.  (This is done as

              Coursework)

Unit 6:  The Cold War, 1945-62

However, fro September 2009 we will only be studying TWO units for the A2 course:

Unit 3:  Expansion and Decolonisation in Africa 1870-1980. (Two pieces of

                Coursework)

Unit 4:  The Cold War, 1945-19991.

There is thus less change in the second year of the course than the first, as we study both Empire and Africa and the Cold War already.  It is pleasing that the exam board – Edexcel- have gone back to the previous dates for the Cold War, as it is far more satisfying to study up to the end of the Cold War.

The changes that are being introduced are very significant and mean that we can offer both a challenging and exciting course for students who want to take History.  Students will need to be prepared to take on board the fact that coursework is very much student-led rather than teacher-led, which means that they will be responsible for doing their own research and then writing it up with solid academic rigour.  The coursework is the piece of work which best prepares students for academic life at University and as such it is invaluable.

What skills do I need?

You need to be able to communicate effectively on paper, as this subject is very essay-based. History is a subject that needs students to use "executive skills" in their work, such as selectivity in dealing with material, accuracy when applying it and relevance in getting at the heart of the topic. You will receive much help and support in this area, as the writing of a powerfully-argued and well-researched essay is a skill that isn't learnt in the course of a few weeks. You need to enjoy reading, as you will have to carry out quite a lot of your own research on the material we use. There are many interesting books available on the areas we study. You can read novels such as "Exodus" (the birth of Israel) by Leon Uris and "Time's Arrow" (the Final Solution) by Martin Amis, to give you a "feel" for the period/events you are studying. There are many interesting memoirs from prominent politicians of the 20th century such as Khrushchev and Gorbachev, but there are also the memoirs of ordinary people such as those who were in the Hitler Youth or soldiers in the Vietnam war. There are also a range of texts, but they are written in a way that allows easy access for students studying at A-level. Magazine articles, newspapers and the Internet are other sources that students can use in order to carry out their research.

Above all, you need to be curious about the world you live in, imaginative in your approach to it and willing to be engaged in lively debate about the issues that contemporary history raises.

After A-levels

As an A-level subject, History combines well with all Arts and Social Science courses, especially Economics, Law and English. However it is a subject that sits well in any portfolio of qualifications, and is welcomed by Admissions Tutors for a broad range of degrees when it appears on the UCAS form.

It is not surprising that students who study History go on to make their careers in a wide range of fields. Obviously, there are few areas where History has a direct bearing, except perhaps teaching, but it is a subject that is widely recognised for entry to banking, journalism, the Civil Service, local government, industrial and commercial management, and the law. Many students at Hurtwood now choose to study International Relations at degree level and this gives them access to a greater range of jobs in journalism and careers in the UN or strategic study organisations - the possibilities are endless.

At Hurtwood, this lively and extremely successful department (circa 90% A/B grades over the last 5 years) gives students a sound grounding, not only in Modern History, but also in the vital study techniques of clear thinking, academic organisation and the coherent communication of ideas.  It also gives the students an interest in current affairs which, hopefully, lasts them all their lives.  Many of the History students from past years at Hurtwood, going right back to the mid 1980s, stay in touch and are now working for organisations such as the UN, Think-tanks in Washington or London, and the Civil Service. Others are writers, actors, musicians, bankers or business people.  They all share one thing in common – a great love of History and what can be learnt from it!

Suggested reading

"Shindler's Ark" - Thomas Kenneally
"The Reader" - Bernhard Schlink
"The Hitler of History" - John Lukacs
"The Cold War" - Isaacs and Downing
"The American Century" - Harole Evans
"The USA and the Cold War" - Oliver Edwards

Suggested viewing

"Schindler's List" "The Iron Cross"
"Sophie's Choice" "The Holocaust"
"The Night Porter" "Full Metal Jacket"
"JFK" "El Salvador"
"Heaven and Earth" "The Killing Fields"
"Platoon"
The Cold War series - BBC2

"If men could learn from History, what lessons it might teach us" - Coleridge