History

The History Department, first and foremost, seeks to develop a passion for studying the past within all students. We believe that this passion for History is best achieved by emphasizing the significance of the narrative.

Indeed, any other approach to teaching the subject fails to acknowledge the primacy of the narrative fails to acknowledge that its core, History represents a series of stories from the past that should engage and inspire students to seek greater knowledge and understanding. Moreover, in our lessons we aim to develop in students a sense of the significance of the past, both within global and more local spheres, as well as understand how events and people have driven change through time.

In the same vein, we also believe that current events–be they local, national, or international in nature–must be informed by an understanding of the past. Students cannot fully understand an event in the past without recognition of context, be it general trends or happenings that preceded that event. Similarly, students cannot fully understand the world that they live in without appreciating the value of historical context. Indeed, we recognize that the present is inextricably connected to the past. Hence, we believed out students should have access to a meaningful and rigorous History education that both inspires them to pursue further studies in the discipline and allows them to become discerning, insightful members of their society.

In lessons, we develop criticality in our students, using a range of texts and visual sources to ensure students are able to understand and evaluate the past, making their own judgments on the significance of past events and figures.

We believe in the value of discussion both in the classroom, and in written work, the ability to effectively articulate argument and opinion being at the heart of the discipline of History.

Equally, we aim to encourage independent learning through the use of the library and a range of electronic resources. Living as we do in an age of new technology, we believe where possible we should ensure we facilitate the use of IT in the classroom, allowing our students to develop as twenty first century learners. At both IGCSE and IB our courses focus on the twentieth century, a range of regional studies fitting into the broader narrative of the twentieth century world.