The Humanities Department has 6 full time teachers. Staff are enthusiastic, committed and supportive. The department meets regularly on a formal basis and is expected to act as a team. There is contact between the departments every day. The department has an important emphasis on sharing good practice with individual staff regularly presenting at department meetings.

 
Premises & Equipment

Currently the department has 5 classrooms. All rooms have a networked broadband internet  PC and printer on the teacher’s desk, as well as an IWB with Activboard software, DVD player, projector and access to many video and DVD programmes. Each member of the department is issued with their own laptop with access to the schools internet. The department has access to the schools IT suite (of which there are 5 rooms equipped with 30 PCs). The department also has ownership of specialist equipment useful for AFL such as a visualiser and a class set of Promethean ‘pupil response’ handsets.

 KS3

KS3 classes have 3 lessons of Humanities each week in Year 7, and then 2 geography, 2 History and one RE lesson for years 8 and 9. Classes are taught as mixed ability, form groups. The department is working on developing their own SOWs based on the National curriculum 2007 scheme with a strong focus on PLTs. The department will be moving towards a 2 year KS3 curriculum, with GCSEs starting earlier in year 9

KS4

A number of qualifications are offered in the Humanities department. GCSE Geography and History are ever popular; we started teaching the new Edexcel ‘A’ syllabuses to our current year 10s. The faculty also offers a short course GCSE in religious studies.

Extra curriculum activities

Humanities staff shows their commitment by organising a number of extra curriculum events. These include: Lunchtime and after school revision classes, Saturday School (KS3 & KS4) and trips

In recent years the Humanities department have organised trips to far flung places such New York, the Brecon Beacons and North Norfolk, as well as lots more local visits to museums and exhibitions in London itself. With the amalgamation of the primary and secondary phase into an All-through school, the department is in the process of developing further links with the primary phase, via Clubs and curriculum development planning.