The Humanities Department
Head of Department = Miss Rebecca Cliffe
Context
The Rayner Stephens High School Humanities department is committed to ensuring that all students make excellent progress in Geography, History, Citizenship and Cultural Studies, through experiencing excellent teaching which engages and motivates them to work hard and succeed. All students will have the opportunity to continue studying Humanities to GCSE, and will have been prepared well so that they are ready and able to succeed following their strong foundation from their KS3 study. Within the Humanities department we have three members of staff committed to ensuring the needs of all students are met within lessons.
Curriculum
We aim to create global citizens equipped to assess received opinion and make independent judgments, who are aware of the past, present and future of the world around them. Through questioning, investigation and critical thinking, RSHS students are exploring their place in the world, as well as their own values and their responsibilities. Students learn to understand the past by developing their historical skills. They gain a sense of time and chronology, and their place in world history. Students develop important skills of identification, analysis and evaluation through examining historical evidence and sources with a critical eye. They are investigating issues affecting the world and people’s lives, in the past, now and in the future. They are given the tools to make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world, at all different scales. Students learn where places are, and about their different landscapes and climates. They learn how places and landscapes are formed, and how people and their environment interact in both positive and negative ways. They are also learning how a diverse range of economies, societies and environments are interconnected.
Assessment
At KS3 students complete a range of KS3 assessments for all subjects in Humanities that test and develop a range of GCSE skills.
At KS4 Students will complete an end of unit exam paper at the end of each half term to assess their progress against all assessment objectives (demonstrate knowledge and understanding, apply knowledge and understanding, analyse information and ideas).
Enrichment Opportunities
Wherever possible, opportunities for geographical fieldwork and visits to sites of historical interest are exploited. All classes should experience at least one Humanities focused trip or in-school workshop during the school year.
