Humanities

What makes the world the place it is today? How can we prosper without harming others?

A Field Trip Survey

Models help understanding

The Humanities Faculty aims to develop an interest in and a passion for the Humanities, helping students to think critically and make informed judgements, based on their knowledge and understanding of real issues and events. 

We aim to inspire students so that this interest will continue beyond their school years...

 

 

 

 

These aims are primarily delivered through the Geography and History departments in Years 7 - 11, with Geography and History popular choices at GCSE. Many students study humanities subjects at A-level, choosing from Geography and History, with the addition of Law, Business studies and Psychology in the Sixth Form.

By looking at people of different times, places and beliefs, students have the material and framework to understand differences in human development and the complexity of human affairs. They develop social awareness, a sense of responsibility and a respect for different beliefs, values and lifestyles.

Topics taught in Years 7 - 9 Geography and History lessons include:
Year 7 - World features, settlements, primary industry, rivers, the Roman Empire, medieval realms,

Year 8 - Themes across Europe, secondary industry and developing countries. Making the UK, Britain 1750 - 1900

Year 9 - Regional studies of the USA, Japan and S. Africa and hazards. Slavery, World War One and World War Two

Within the Humanities Faculty we aim to promote as many teaching styles as possible in order to provide pace, variety and challenge to our students and facilitate effective learning at all levels. Teaching methods include individual and group work, individual and teacher presentations, individual research using ICT and library resources, discussion, debate, simulation, drama and role play. Active participation in lessons is encouraged.  We also make use of relevant DVD/video material. Excursions, visits and fieldwork are welcomed, especially for coursework.

Year 10 Geography Field Trip
On 8th March, the Year 10 Geography GCSE group travelled to Flatford Mill in Suffolk to spend a couple of days learning about rivers. They spend a lot of time in their wellies, stood in rivers measuring their width, water speeds and looking at the bedrock of the rivers. The experience was very beneficial as well as enjoyable to all and thanks go to Mr Cotton and Mrs Clark.

Year 8 'go in wellies'

On Thursday 27 November all of Year 8 experienced life on an organic farm at Bore Place, Chiddingstone. We came in our Wellington boots because recent rain had turned parts of the farm into mud tracks!

We were shown around by a cheerful and knowledgeable lady called Julia Bracewell, the Educational coordinator at Commonwork. We saw the crop beds for various vegetables and the poly-tunnel as well as the outdoor bread oven and the 'woodchip' burner that the farm was really proud of and which made them carbon neutral. To us it was a big wooden cupboard with pipes all over the place!

Our favourite parts were the rescued (ex-battery) hens, which ran all over the enclosure and the dairy herd, especially the newly born calves. It was cold in the wind, and as our noses became gradually red or blue, we gazed and smelt in wonder at the 'slurry lagoon'!

Many thanks to Mr Cotton who took us and listened to our endless questions.

Overland to Russia

Last month intrepid Sixth Form History students ventured on a trip by bus from Tallinn to St Petersburg. After two days exploring the charming medieval capital of Estonia, we travelled over the frontier and through the Russian countryside. Whilst in St Petersburg, a city built on water by Peter the Great, we enjoyed the Romanov Tsars. Of particular interest were the ubiquitous golden domed churches and grand palaces.

Rasputin's murder drew us to the scene of the crime at Yusupov Palace, and Lenin's statue provided a reminder of Russia's turbulent past. The highlight of our cultural entertainment was a ballet performance at the Mariinskiy Theatre and a Russian Folklore evening at Nickolaevsky Palace.

A visit to the House of Faberg' resulted in the purchase of some rather pricey Easter eggs and we all returned home clutching a collection of matryoshki stacking dolls as gifts.

A-level Geography Field Trip
Lovely Weather For Ducks!

Year 12 students take measurements at Flatford Mill Field Centre

Webbed feet would certainly have been an asset for the Year 12 Geography students who braved the weather last week, at Flatford Mill in Suffolk.

The brave band of eight, accompanied first by Mrs Cox and then, in better weather, by Mr Cotton, showed great determination and fortitude as they did battle with the River Brett. River levels were high but, after appropriate risk assessments, they carried out their measurements, gaining some of the best results their tutor had ever seen. A less arduous day followed when, engaged in Human Geography research in the little market town of Sudbury, they used their charm to persuade unsuspecting passers-by to answer their questionnaires.

' The best things about this field trip were Mrs Cox's chocolate flapjack, used to bribe us to do 'just one more site measurement', an amazing chocolate pudding and Mr Cotton's endless supply of sweeties.'

A good time was had by all and a tired but happy band returned to school to collapse in the Common Room on Friday afternoon. Rather like our speaker on Eighth Weekend, they may well look back on their trip as one which taught them many skills, some of them Geographical. They also know how to look on the bright side of life and, importantly, how to look elegant in six layers of clothing and a woolly hat.

Beechwood in Berlin

Last Friday, Year 11 historians set out, with high hopes and much excitement, for Berlin. The trip certainly lived up to our expectations and we stayed in the comfortable Sunflower Hostel. The places we visited were spectacular: the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag (the seat of Parliament in Germany), the Kaiser Wilhelm I Church, which was bombed during the Second World War, and the incredibly moving Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp where thousands of people had been killed. We visited Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall, that separated East and West Berlin. The shopping at Friedrichstrasse was fantastic, and we visited Potsdamer Platz, where a very fast lift took us high enough for a 360 degree view of Berlin.