History

Please note: All lesson materials for History at IST, along with interactive revision resources, simulations and teacher notes, are available in full for the entire two year course at Mr. Tarr's website, www.activehistory.co.uk.

Overview

The History Curriculum at the IST is informed, but not constrained, by the English National Curriculum. The department delivers units of study which are international rather than narrowly nationalistic: term-long units on Medieval Society (Grade 6), The Renaissance (Grade 7) and The American Civil War (Grade 8) are just a few examples of units designed to promote debate and discussion not just about the past, but also about the present and the future.
In Grade 9/10 we teach the IGCSE Modern World History course.
In Grade 11/12 we teach the International Baccalaureate [details here].

The Head of History is Mr. Tarr, whose website www.activehistory.co.uk forms the bedrock of the History course from ages 11-18.

Curriculum Grids [download]

• These curriculum grids provide a constantly changing snapshot of what is being taught in History lessons at IST for year grades 6-12.

• They provide a deliberately simple overview of the topics being covered at any point in time and they are constantly being updated.

• Please note: the curriculum grids are designed to be 'live' documents and are hosted 'in the cloud' for this purpose.

Curriculum Handbook [download]

Comprehensive documentation about the History department - including philosophy, staffing, vertical and horizontal progression - can be found in the Curriculum Handbook.

This file contains not just the handbook, but a wide range of supporting documentation including marking policy, sample mark schemes for IGCSE, KS3 and IB and so on.

School Trips for History Students

• The History department organises a range of trips and events for Grades 6-12.

Grade 6: Day trip to St. Sernin Basilica in Toulouse OR Albi Cathedral as part of their studies into medieval architecture.

Grade 7: Day trip to Carcassonne as part of their local study unit on the Cathars (joint trip with Geography)

Grade 8: Four-Day Residential Trip to the World War One Battlefields of the Somme and Ypres Salient.

Grade 9*: Three-Day Residential Trip to Barcelona to study its significance in terms of the Spanish Civil War (join trip with Geography / Business).

Grade 11*: Three-Day Residential Trip to Berlin to study its significance in terms of Nazi Germany / The Cold War (join trip with Geography / Business).

*More details about these two trips can be found on the IB Page.

Detailed Schemes of Work for Grades 6-12

• For detailed information on every topic – including worksheets, teacher notes, interactive simulations, quizzes and revision materials – you should go to www.activehistory.co.uk, which is authored by Mr. Tarr and which is accessible to all students both at school and at home.

• ActiveHistory is constantly being developed and maintained to provide a transparent, simple means for students, parents and teachers at the IST to access worksheets, lesson plans, revision materials and lots of interactive materials to promote the teaching and learning of History within the school.

IB History at the International School of Toulouse [link]

The manner in which History is delivered at IST at IB Level is subject of a dedicated page which can be found here.

Curated by: Curriculum Leader for History, Russel Tarr