The Humanities

Department 

The Humanities Department covers Geography, History, Religious Studies and Leisure and Tourism. We are proud of the positive contribution we make to the life at Belmont, which we continually strive to improve. Our

team are very hard-working and passionate about the humanities subjects we teach. We want to fire students’ curiosity and imaginations about the

past and the world around them so that they ultimately become successful participants in the dynamic world in which we live.

 

Our aims...

We aim to provide students with the opportunity To develop the ability to analyse, assess and evaluate so that

they can make sense of the present by looking at the past and make sense of the world they live in

To ask questions whilst building on their own experiences To develop an understanding of identity and how it can be

shaped by the past, faith, beliefs and values, culture, environment and choice

To be able to critically evaluate the impact of religions and beliefs in the modern world whilst respecting the fact that other people may hold views different to their own

To appreciate that with rights come responsibilities which influence their success in being caring and respectful global citizens

Our ethos... Before we can inspire students by providing a stimulating and engaging

curriculum we believe that the learning climate within the school and the classroom needs to be one where students feel secure and safe and are able to participate in a respectful and caring environment. We have high expectations of our students both academically and socially.

 

The Humanities TeamMiss S Brooker (Curriculum Team Leader)

Miss L Phillips

Miss L Gibson

Miss D Rowe

Mr K Sexton

Miss A Telfer

Mr A Wood

Humanities Curriculum

In Key Stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9) we teach 4 hours of humanities consisting of: Geography, History and Religious Education.

At Key Stage 4 (years 10 and 11) we teach Geography, History, Religious Studies and Leisure & Tourism at GCSE.

We are constantly striving to keep our curriculum up-to-date and topical as well as engaging to students, therefore it is continually evolving.

Students may be withdrawn from lessons in Religious Education in accordance with the 1944 Education Act if any parent/carer has conscientious objections. The Headteacher should be notified of any such request in writing, although it is preferred that parent/carer’s visit the school to discuss the matter first.

KS3 Curriculum  Geography History

ReligiousEducation

Weekly time allocation 4 hours each year group to cover the 3 subjects

7Look at it this way

British or EuropeanOur changing World

EmpiresSlavery

The Norman Conquest

Religious ExpressionThe Environment

Why is there suffering inthe world?

8Oi Brazil

Moving StoriesA Thorny IssueFuture Flooding

Medieval Realms The Tudors and StewartsThe French Revolution

Judaism (Corrie Ten Boom)Rites of Passage

Freedom and JusticeWhat does it mean to be a

Muslim?

9

Water WorksFor Richer and Poorer

The World’s Biggest JigsawParadise or Nightmare?

Modern Warfare: WW1Modern Warfare: WW2

The Holocaust

Prejudice and Discrimination

Believing in GodMatters of Life and Death

Community Cohesion

KS4 Curriculum 

Geography HistoryReligiousStudies

Leisure and Tourism

Weekly time allocation 2 hours 2 hours 1 hour 2 hours

10

&

11

We currently offer AQA Spec A GCSE Geography which consists of the following units: Water on the

Land Coasts The Restless

Earth Development Population Tourism Controlled

Assessment

We currently offer OCR History Pilot GCSE which consists of the following units: Local History:

Durham Cathedral

Crime and Punishment

Heritage Marketing

Raiders and Invaders

We currently offer Edexcel Religious Studies full course and short course. The full course consists of the following units: Religion and Life Religion and

Society

We currently offer Edexcel Leisure & Tourism GCSE which is a double ward GCSE. It consists of the following units: The L&T

Industries The L&T

Environment Sales,

Promotion and Operations

Customers and Employment

Homework Homework is set every week for lessons that have 2 hours worth of

curriculum time per week or once every fortnight for subjects with 1 hour worth of curriculum time per week.

Tasks are published half termly and can be found on the blog – they are also available to see on tutor group notice boards and on the Humanities notice board.

The homework tasks set may take on different forms such as to carry out research, learning specific material, or consist of one or more reading or writing tasks. Homework will be designed to test or extend a student’s understanding of a particular topic and will offer opportunities for the student to work independently of the teacher, using knowledge already gained in class.

We are often involved with transition activities and days where Year 6 students visit before they start KS3 in September of the new academic year. Depending on time available some of the activities and topics we look at include:

A Historical Mystery Look at it your way – an introduction Signs and Symbols

Transition from KS2 to KS3

Transition from KS3 to KS4 Firstly, students are given information about the options available to them

for study at KS4 from both staff and their peers Secondly, we invite students and staff to attend options evening where we

are happy to speak to students and parents about the options available to them.

From 2011, students are required to choose at least one of History or Geography at GCSE , with RE being statutory and Leisure and Tourism remaining an option choice.

Something extra... 

We try our best to provide a stimulating curriculum and as a result often run different enrichment and support activities. These can be trips to allow students to collect primary data or experience something first-hand or to provide a greater diversity to their learning environment and experiences. We also provide support to our students by offering extra revision sessions, master classes, homework clubs and ‘target practice’.

We often change the trips and workshops that we offer to make sure that we are keeping our curriculum interesting and up to date. Some of the trips and workshops we have offered in the recent past include: River Browney, Jorvik, York, Durham Cathedral, Ireland, Hadrian’s Wall, Zoolab, Leeds Armouries, Freeman’s Quay, Rheged, Sherburn Sports Centre and The One World Development Workshop.

International Trips...

Each year, around Easter, we offer our year 9 and 10 students the chance to take part in an international trip which has included Italy and Barcelona in the last few years. Both staff and students always enjoy these excursions.

Future Business Magnates...

In partnership with the ICT department Miss Gibson runs the schools Future Business Magnates (FBM) Team. This is a regional competition which provides an outlet for schools to encourage entrepreneurial attainment and to promote social and economic awareness amongst students. Students have to take part in various ‘challenges’ before making their final presentation to a panel of judges. Students then attend the Awards Dinner to find out who has won.

Humanities Facilities  We are based in block two and have four teaching classrooms and

our own ICT suite. All classrooms are fitted with Interactive white boards which allow us to use ICT to facilitate both teaching and learning. We also have the use of two visualisers within the department which are a fantastic piece of equipment that aids assessment for learning.

Belmont and Beyond....

We are proud that many of our students go on to study humanities subjects at sixth form and at

University. We have had students return to school as Geographical Association Ambassadors to tell students of the possible opportunities that our subjects can lead to when studied at undergraduate and post-graduate level. Ultimately, whether students take an academic or vocational route we hope that we have inspired them all to become life-long learners.