Sociology & History
16th October 2023
Year Seven History
Pupils have been learning about the Battle of Hastings and writing a narrative account explaining what led to William of Normandy winning the Battle and becoming King of England. Pupils have been working on their ability to put events in chronological order and give details about historical events. Giovanni, Shiloh, and Gracious absolutely excelled at this. One of my favourite sentences was 'William commanded his archers to fire, and arrows rained down on Harold’s men. As the sun set on the day of 14th October 1066, Harold was shot in the eye before being gruesomely cut into pieces and buried in a secret location, despite his mother pleading to have him given to her.'
Year Eight History
Pupils have been learning about the British Rule in India. They culminated the topic by practising the historical skill of interpretation. They had to use their own knowledge and evidence to state how far they agreed with different interpretations of the impacts of British control. Almost all of the students in year 8 agreed with Interpretation D, written by Indian politician Shashi Tharoor, who criticised the British for exploiting India's natural resources, using violence to control the population, and ruining the lives of thousands of Indians. Students cited the violence that took place after the First War of Independence and the frequent famines in India to support their conclusion. Well done to Hayaam, who wrote an absolutely incredible answer and also did an amazing presentation at the beginning of the year on the Akkadian Empire, as well as all the other students who were able to achieve full marks in the test through thoughtful analysis and understanding of the interpretations.
Year 9 History
Students have been learning about the Industrial Revolution. Recently, they have been researching famous inventors such as Lewis Latimer and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. They are assessing what enabled the Industrial Revolution to take place. These pieces of work were created by Brilliant Boy and Maureen and demonstrate the changes that took place after the invention of the Spinning Frame in 1769 and the subsequent onset of factory construction and urbanisation.
Year 11 History
We have been learning about Germany in depth after World War One and looking at the rise of Hitler and the consolidation of the Nazi Party's power through the 1930s. Although the topic is very dark and disturbing, we are interested in how it has been possible for a nation to become manipulated and oppressed to such an extreme extent in such a short period of time.
Year 10 Sociology
Year 10 have started the year really strong. They have been introduced to Durkheim, the 'father of sociology,' and the positivist and interpretivist approaches to sociological research. They have followed the steps in sociological research design and considered issues surrounding ethics and practical challenges. They will go on to conduct their own research next term. Well done to Angelina, who has consistently shown a positive attitude this term and produced this fantastic pie chart to present data from the Tanzanian Ministry of Labour and Employment, showing the relationship between years of schooling and employment status.
Year 11 Sociology
We have been learning about Crime, Deviance, and Social Control. Recently, we have looked at the ways that sociologists define crime and explain the reasons for crime. Students were tasked with presenting on different types of crimes, specifically global crime, cybercrime, green crime, and corporate crime. All four girls' presentations were engaging and informative. Naveen made a film inspired by the climate activist Richard Moss, on green crime. This is the poster she made to accompany her video and oral presentation.
