Belleville Wix Academy

History

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History shapes who we are. It is in every family story, every building, every painting, map or new archaeological discovery.  Understanding history give us a better understanding of the world, of ourselves, of different places and people.

Through the teaching of history, we develop children to think like historians: how to use evidence, develop their questioning, to make interpretations and connections and to understand context.  Above all to understand history is never simple, often controversial and that one view or perspective will never give the whole picture.

Our history curriculum covers a broad spectrum of local, national and worldwide topics within and beyond the National Curriculum. We develop knowledge and understanding (including chronology) alongside skills of enquiry and interpretation.  Our curriculum has been developed with subject specialists, the Historical Association and much research.

We build in exciting first-hand experiences ranging from exploring artefacts, pictures, documents and maps to interviewing local residents and interrogating school logbooks.  

We make the most of all the access we have in London to world-class institutions including The Museum of London, The British Museum, The Black Cultural Archives and royal parks and palaces.  We embrace the local and community history within our diverse communities.

Our curriculum ensures each school has strong local history elements focusing on events, places and people significant to local area and contexts so our children in different schools will cover bespoke local history topics such as: Crystal Palace, Richmond Park or Clapham South Deep Shelter.

In our bilingual stream, we work with École de Wix to ensure that by the end of each Key Stage, pupils will have covered all English and French National Curriculum expectations. When learning in English, pupils cover predominantly the same units of history as their mainstream peers.  However, in our younger classes (Reception Bilingual and Year 1 Bilingual), we plan shared topics in conjunction with École de Wix, with a strong focus on bilingual early language acquisition. In addition, in Years 4 and 5 Bilingual, pupils learn about key shared periods of French and English history, to maximise their bi-cultural learning opportunities. 

 

Download our Q1E History Curriculum Overview   

Download our Q1E History Progression Document