Year 8 – The Rise of the West

The History curriculum at Allerton Grange is designed to give students a rich and broad understanding of the development of Britain and the wider world from the fall of the Roman Empire to the present day. Students will place these developments in a truly global perspective, and engage with the work of historians to help build not only their knowledge of the past, but their sense of History as a discipline which is contentious, complex and changing.

In Year 8, students will follow the development of European powers and Britain’s increasingly global role in a shifting world. They will begin by looking at the Renaissance and Reformation across Europe and consider the impact of these new ideas. Students will then consider the impact of European contact with the New World, including the development of a transatlantic slave trade. Students will also consider the longer history of slavery, and the glories of pre-colonial Africa such as the Songhay Empire. Students will then return to the history of Britain, charting the growth in the power of Parliament and the development of the British Empire as it came up against old empires such as the Mughals. Students will then wrestle with the Enlightenment, attempting to pin down the impact and scope of this complex change, while looking at its political impact in the revolutions of the late 18th Century. Students will finish the year by looking at the Industrial Revolution and its impact at the start of the modern world.

At the end of Year 8, students will consider the question ‘How do we tell the story of the Early Modern period?’. They will draw together their understanding from across the course and consider different ways of telling this complex story.

Useful Links:

https://www.bbc.com/education/subjects/zk26n39

https://www.teachithistory.co.uk/ks3

https://schoolhistory.co.uk/resources/year/ks3/