Purpose of Study

Through this subject, pupils will gain a coherent knowledge and understanding of Britain's past and that of the wider world. Their curiosity will be inspired to know more about the past through asking perceptive questions, thinking critically, weighing evidence, sifting arguments and developing perspective and judgement.

Aims

The National Curriculum for History aims to ensure that all pupils:

• know and understand the history of these islands as a coherent, chronological narrative, from the earliest times to the present days: how people's lives have shaped this nation and how Britain has influenced and been influenced by the wider world
• know and understand significant aspects of the history of the wider world: the nature of ancient civilisations; the expansion and dissolution of empires; characteristic features of past non-European societies; achievements and follies of mankind
• gain and deploy a historically-grounded understanding of abstract terms such as empire, civilisation, parliament and peasantry
• understand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance, and use them to make connections, draw contrasts, analyse trends, frame historically-valid questions and create their own structured accounts, including written narratives and analyses 
• understand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims, and discern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed
• gain historical perspective by placing their growing knowledge into different contexts, understanding the connections between local, regional, national and international history; between cultural, economic, military, political, religious and social history; and between short- and long-term timescales. 

Key Stage 1

Pupils should be taught about: 

• changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life 
• events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries] 
• the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods [for example, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong, William Caxton and Tim Berners-Lee, Pieter Bruegel the Elder and LS Lowry, Rosa Parks and Emily Davison, Mary Seacole and/or Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell] 
• significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

Key Stage 2

Pupils should be taught about: 

• changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age
• the Roman Empire and its impact on Britain
• Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots
• the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor
• a local history study
• a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066
• the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one of the following: Ancient Sumer; The Indus Valley; Ancient Egypt; The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China 
• Ancient Greece – a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world 
• a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history – one study chosen from: early Islamic civilization, including a study of Baghdad c. AD 900; Mayan civilization c. AD 900; Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300.



Undercover Time Explorer: Tudor Kitchens Game

Step into the shoes of a Tudor servant and help to plan a feast for Henry VIII. But be careful! You must avoid being caught as an imposter.

• Play Undercover Time Explorer

Fun Kids: Locked Up in the Tower Of London

Explore 1,000 years of history at the Tower of London in this Fun Kids podcast series, complete with colourful animations and fascinating facts about the Tower.

• Visit Fun Kids

Story Shuffle: Tower Of London Game

The history of the Tower of London has been jumbled up. Unscramble the stories and find out when in history they took place.

• Play Story Shuffle

Visit local museums

Here are a few suggestions. Have you visited all of these?

Streetlife Museum

Step back in time and take a trip through 200 years of transport history.

Hull and East Riding Museum of Archaeology

Mammoths, mosaics and more! Discover hidden histories from the past few millennia.

Hands on History Museum

Meet an Egyptian mummy, experience Victorian life and explore the Story of Hull in this old Grammar School.

York Castle Museum

Famous for its collections of costume, textiles, military and social history, York Castle Museum brings history back to life. Wander through the Victorian streets, venture into the prison cell of notorious highwayman Dick Turpin and discover what life was like on the front line in the First World War.

Yorkshire Museum

Discover thousands of years of York's history in one place, from prehistory to the city's medieval splendour. Walk on a genuine Roman mosaic floor, kneel at St William's shrine, see the monsters of the deep that swam when Yorkshire was beneath the sea, and much more.

National Railway Museum

Home to iconic locomotives and an unrivalled collection of engineering brilliance, learn about the past, present and future of innovation on the railways.