History
EXAM BOARD: EDEXCEL IGCSE 9-1 (4HI01)
HEAD OF HISTORY: Mrs McDaid
STAFF: Mr Breadner, Miss L Clarke, Mrs Griffin, Miss Harwood, Mr Shirtliff, Mr McDonald
This syllabus enables students to engage in historical enquiry to develop as independent and reflective learners. The Edexcel IGCSE course helps students develop the ability to ask relevant questions about the past, to investigate issues critically and to make valid historical claims by using a range of sources in their historical context and reach substantiated conclusions. The aims and objectives of this qualification are to enable students to develop and extend their knowledge and understanding of specified key events, periods and societies in history; and of the wide diversity of human experience.
The Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in History consists of two compulsory papers. It is a linear qualification and all papers must be taken at the end of the course of study.
Paper 1: Depth Studies
Germany: Development of Dictatorship, 1918-45
Students will learn about the establishment of the Weimar Republic after the abdication of the Kaiser and the German Revolution of 1918– 19. Then they will analyse the reasons for the rise of Hitler and the Nazis in January 1933. Finally, they will look at the changes the Nazis made in Germany 1933-1945 to men, women and children’s lives.
​
A World Divided: Superpower Relations, 1943–72
Students will learn about the reasons for the Cold War, including the long-term rivalry between the Soviet Union and the West, the ideological differences between Communism and Capitalism, and the tensions and disagreements resulting from the Second World War. After analysing the key events of the period, like the building of the Berlin Wall 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962, we turn our attention to the end of the Cold War and moves towards Détente, 1963–72.
Paper 2: Investigation and Breadth Studies
Changes in medicine, c1848 - c1948
This unit comprises five key topics, each centred on crucial developments in the history of this period. The following themes run through the key topics:
-
Changes in medical treatment and in understanding the cause of illness.
-
Improvements in public health provision.
-
Changes in surgery, e.g. development of anaesthetics.
-
The changing role of women in medicine
-
The impact of war and science and technology on medicine.
Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905 - 1924
From the final years of the last tsar of Russia to the establishment of the Communist Party, learn more about the key events of the Russian Revolution. This unit covers the story and downfall of Tsar Nicholas II 1905-1914, and the economic, social and political effects of the First World War on Russia. The course analyses key events that led to the activities and achievements of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, including the April Theses, July Days and Civil War.
This course will lead to an enhanced understanding and awareness of how different people, events and developments have been accorded historical significance and how and why different interpretations have been constructed about them.
ASSESSMENT:
PAPER 1: Depth Studies
Level 1/2. 60 marks total. 1 hour and 30 minute examination comprising a mixture of extended writing and essay based questions, based on two selected depth studies.
50%
PAPER 2: Investigation and Breadth Studies
50%
Level 1/2. 60 marks total. 1 hour and 30 minute examination comprised of two sections, with a mixture of extended writing and essay-based questions. Section A is based on a selected historical investigation, and Section B on a breadth study in change.