Head of Department
Mrs Fairclough
 

In year 11 we will study the content for Paper 1: Understanding the modern world.  This is assessed via a written exam which is worth 50% of the GCSE.

Paper 1: Understanding the modern world. Written exam 50% of GCSE

The Cold War 1945 – 1975.  This course follows on well from what students studied in Year 9 and examines the nuclear conflict between America and the USSR that developed soon after the end of the Second World War.  This wider world depth study enables students to understand the complex & diverse interests of different individuals & their conflicting ideologies.  The course looks at the causes & events of Cold War conflicts.  Students will study topics such as the Iron Curtain; the building of the Berlin Wall; the Cuban Missile Crisis; the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Paper 2: Shaping the nation. Written exam 50% of GCSE

British depth study including the historic environment: Elizabethan England 1568 – 1603. This course looks at the final 35 years of Elizabeth I’s reign including problems over her marriage, relations with parliament, the Elizabethan theatre, problems with the poor, Catholic plots, Mary Queen of Scots, English exploration, Drake & Raleigh and the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Students will also get a chance to study a specific site in depth and examine its historical context. This site will be a Tudor manor house, a theatre, a village or a battle site.

For more information please see Mrs Fairclough