• Ms. C. Curran  (Head of Department)
• Mr. D. Maginness
• Mr. D. Murphy
• Ms. A. Nugent

In KS3 pupils will gain a good knowledge and understanding of the development of Ireland as we know it today and the 20^th Century World and its relevance today. Key historical and transferrable skills will continually be developed. These skills will include recognising bias, formulating an opinion, countering an argument, the ability to debate, understanding Cause and Effect and  Source Work related skills.

What will I study?

Year 8	Year 9	Year 10
Historical Skills   ·         Sources of evidence – primary & secondary & examples ·         Types of sources & examples ·         Bias – what is bias; recognising bias; why is it still useful ·         Time & Chronology ·         Fact & Opinion ·         Anachronisms   The Normans ·         Who were the Normans? ·         The Causes of the Battle of Hastings ·         The Events and results of the Battle of Hastings   Castles ·         Motte and Bailey Castles ·         Castle Attack ·         Castle Defence   The Normans in Ireland ·         Why did the Normans come to Ireland? ·         Dermot of the Foreigners ·         John de Courcy	The Famine   ·         The Causes of the Famine ·         The Events of the Famine ·         The Effects/Results of the Famine   Unionism and Nationalism   ·         Unionists ·         Irish Nationalists ·         Constitutional/Revolutionary Nationalists ·         The United Irishmen ·         The Robert Emmett Rebellion ·         The Young Irelanders ·         The Fenians ·         Daniel O`Connell ·         Why did Ulster Unionists oppose Home Rule? Political, Religious, Economic   The Easter Rising   ·         The Causes of The Easter Rising ·         The Leadership of The Easter Rising ·         The Events of The Easter Rising ·         The Effects of The Easter Rising ·         The War of Independence ·         The Anglo Irish Treaty	Democracy and Dictatorship   ·         The Treaty of Versailles ·         Dictatorship and Democracy ·         Fascism ·         Communism ·         Leninist Russia ·         Stalinist Russia   Weimar and Nazi Germany   ·         Life in the Weimar Republic. ·         Hitler’s early life like ·         The Great Depression ·         Life in Nazi Germany? (e.g. Young People) ·         Positive and Negative aspects of life in Nazi Germany? ·         Nazi Control (Terror, Propaganda and Censorship)   The Causes of World War Two   ·         Hitler’s foreign policy aims ·         The League of Nations ·         Appeasement ·         Was Hitler totally to blame for World War Two?   The Events of World War Two   ·         The two sides ·         Dunkirk ·         The Battle of Britain ·         Why did Hitler invade the Soviet Union? ·         The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union? ·         The Holocaust

How will I be assessed?

There will be three formal assessments for each KS3 class over the course of the school year.

These assessments usually occur at the end of November, Mid February and Mid May.

Useful links:

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/

http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history

GCSE History is a very popular choice subject at Omagh CBS. Pupils will study the CCEA History specification. The key topics covered are Germany 1918-1941, Changing Relationships: Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland 1965-1985 and The Cold War 1945-1991.

What will I study?

Year 11	Year 12
Unit 1  Section A: Modern World Studies in Depth  Life in Nazi Germany, 1933–45   Section B: Local Study  Changing Relations: Northern Ireland and its Neighbours, 1965–98   Assessment Format: External written examination lasting 1 hour 45 minutes   60% overall weighting   Test will be sat in May/June of Year 11   There are two sections   Section A: Students answer five questions. The paper includes short response questions, structured questions and an essay question.   Section B: Students answer six questions. The paper includes source-based questions, short response questions and an essay question.	Unit 2 Outline Study: International Relations, 1945–2003   Assessment Format: External written examination lasting 1 hour 15 minutes Students answer six questions. The paper includes source-based questions, a structured question and an essay question.   40% Overall Weighting   Test will be sat in May/June of Year 12
Content Outline  Unit 1 Section A  ·        Hitler takes political control,1933–34 ·        Control and opposition In Hitler’s Germany ·        Life for workers in Nazi Germany ·        Life for workers in Nazi Germany ·        Life for women and the family in Nazi Germany ·        Life for young people in Nazi Germany ·        Life for the Jewish community and minorities in Nazi Germany ·        Germany at war   Section B  ·        The O’Neill years ·        The campaign for civil rights ·        A deteriorating situation, 1969 ·        The re-emergence of paramilitary organisations ·        Internment ·        Direct rule ·        The search for a political solution – attempt at power-sharing, 1973–74 ·        Changing Republican strategy ·        Changing relations – towards closer co-operation ·        The Downing Street Declaration, 1993 ·        The Good Friday Agreement, 1998	Content Outline Unit 2 ·        Co-operation ends and the Cold War begins ·        Emerging superpower rivalry and its consequences, 1945–49 ·        Flashpoints in Europe and the impact on international relations ·        Flashpoints outside Europe and the impact on international relations ·        The end of the Cold War, 1985–91 ·        New tensions emerge, 1991–2003

 

 

Useful links:

http://www.rewardinglearning.org.uk/microsites/history/gcse/index.asp

http://www.rewardinglearning.org.uk/microsites/history/gcse/controlled_assessment/unit3.asp

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/

http://johndclare.net/

AS and A2 History

AS1: Historical Investigations and Interpretations

Topic: Option 5: The Nazis and Germany 1918-45

The Weimar Republic

• German Revolution 1918-1919: collapse of Imperial Germany
• The Spartacist uprising, the National Constituent Assembly, The Weimar Constitution
• The Treaty of Versialles

The rise of the Nazis 1919-1933

• Early life of Hitler & origins of Nazi Party, Munich Putsch & its significance for Nazis
• The economy 1919-1933
• The political crisis 1930-1933

Nazi controlled Germany 1933-1945

• consolidation of power 1933-1934 & the police state
• culture in Third Reich, eg. The use of arts & media as a means of control,
• the economy during the Third Reich
• the social impact of the Third Reich; women, youth, religion & treatment of minorities

 

Weighting: 50% of AS and 20% of A Level

Examination: External written examination lasting 1 hour 30 mins

Students answer a short response question and a two-part source question.

 

AS2: Historical Conflict and Change

Topic: Option 5: Russia 1914-41

The Growth of Opposition to the Tsar

 

Lenin & Russia 1917-1924;

• 1917: short term causes of the February Revolution & the causes of the October Revolution; the establishment & maintenance of the Bolshevik dictatorship & cultural values
• the economy 1917-1924
• assessment of Lenin as a revolutionary leader

 

Stalin & Revolution 1924-1941;

• the power struggle 1922-1928
• economic changes 1924-1941
• the basis of Stalin’s power: cult of personality, the purges, the Constitution, Stalinist culture
• assessment of Stalin as a revolutionary leader

 

Weighting: 50% of AS and 20% of A Level

Examination: External written examination lasting 1 hour 30 mins

Students answer two questions from a choice of three. Each question has two parts, a short response and an extended essay.

 

A21: Change over Time

Topic: Option 3: The Clash of Ideologies in Europe 1900-2000

Russia and Europe 1900-17

• the main events in Tsarist foreign policy in the period 1900-17.

Revolutionary Russia and opposition from western governments 1917-33

• the main factors that influenced Soviet foreign policy and the foreign policy of western governments that opposed Communism 1917-33;

• the motives, aims and methods of Lenin’s foreign policy 1917-24;

• the main events in Lenin’s foreign policy including World War I, Brest-Litovsk, Comintern and foreign intervention;
• the motives, response and methods of western governments and their degree of success 1917-24; and

• the motives, aims and methods of Soviet foreign policy 1924-33, the role of Stalin and ‘Socialism in One Country’, as well as the motives, response and methods of western governments.

The struggle for survival 1933-45

• the main events in Soviet foreign policy 1933-45, including collective security, League of Nations, the Spanish Civil War and Nazi-Soviet Pact;

• the motives, response and methods of western governments and their degree of success 1933-45; and
• the impact of World War II on the USSR, Yalta and Potsdam agreements.

The search for security 1945-56

• the motives, aims and methods that influenced Soviet foreign policy 1945-56;
• the main events in Soviet foreign policy 1945-56, including the breakdown of the Grand Alliance, Soviet domination in Eastern Europe and the Berlin Blockade; and
• the motives, response and methods of western governments, including the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Aid, and their degree of success 1945-56

Co-operation and coexistence 1956-79

• the motives, aims and methods that influenced Khrushchev’s foreign policy 1956-64;
• the main events in Soviet foreign policy 1956-64, including peaceful coexistence, maintaining control in Eastern Europe, the Hungarian uprising and Berlin Wall;
• the motives, response and methods of western governments and their degree of success 1956-64;
• the motives, aims and methods that influenced the foreign policy of Brezhnev 1964-79;

• the main events in Soviet foreign policy 1964-79, including the Czechoslovakia crisis, Brezhnev Doctrine, SALT and the era of détente; and the motives, response and methods of western governments and their degree of success 1964-79.

 Soviet aggression, decline and collapse 1979-91

• the motives, aim and methods that influenced Soviet foreign policy 1979-91;
• the effects of Afghanistan in Europe, the second Cold War and the decline of the USSR 1979-85;
• the main events in Soviet foreign policy 1985-91, including the role of Gorbachev, thawing of tensions and the end of the Cold War; the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe and the USSR itself by 1991;

• the motives, response and methods of western governments and their degree of success 1979-91; and

• the successes and failures of Soviet foreign policy 1917-91.

 

Weighting: 20% of A Level

Examination: External written examination lasting 1 hour

Students answer a synoptic essay question.

 

A22: Historical Investigations and Interpretations

Topic: Option 4: The Partition of Ireland 1900-1925

The crisis over the Third Home Rule Bill up to September 1914

• the significance for Irish politics of Liberal victory in the general election of 1906, following ten years of Conservative rule;
• the significance for Irish politics of the general election results of January and December 1910;
• the extent to which the Liberal government under Asquith and the Irish Parliamentary Party under Redmond achieved their aims by September 1914, focusing on the Home Rule Act;
• the motives for Ulster unionist, Southern unionist and Conservative party opposition to Home Rule, led primarily by Carson, Craig and Law;
• the methods they used and the extent to which each party opposing Home Rule achieved its aims by September 1914;
• the main developments in the period 1910–14, analyzing the extent to which the Liberal government and other political parties can be blamed for what became the Home Rule crisis.

Political developments 1914–18

• the political impact of the First World War on Ireland between 1914 and 1916;
• the long-term and short-term causes of the Easter Rising of 1916;
• the significance of the Rising and its immediate aftermath;
• political developments 1916–18, particularly the reasons for the outcome in Ireland of the general election of December 1918, dealing with Sinn Féin strengths, weaknesses of the Irish Parliamentary Party and the failure of British government policies.

     Political developments 1919–23

• the context for the outbreak of the Anglo-Irish War in 1919 and the military and political tactics employed by British authorities and Irish republicans during the conflict in the period 1919–21;

• the reasons for British authorities and Irish republicans seeking a truce in 1921;
• British aims in the Government of Ireland Act 1920;
• Sinn Féin and Unionist reactions to the Government of Ireland Act and its significance in Ireland north and south;

• the aims of each side in the Treaty negotiations and the extent to which these aims were achieved;

• the causes and events of the Irish Civil War of 1922–23;

• the reasons for the victory of the Free State army in the Irish Civil War.

 

Northern Ireland 1921–25

• the institutions established by the new government of Northern Ireland in 1921, led by Sir James Craig;

• the challenges faced by Craig’s government in security, economic issues, sectarian tensions, the Boundary Commission and assembling the machinery of government;

• the degree of success of Craig’s government in meeting these challenges by 1925

 

Weighting: 40% of A Level

Examination: External written examination lasting 2 hours 30 mins

Students answer three questions; two are source based and one is an extended essay.