This Learning Area leads on Humanities, History, Geography, Religious Studies, Personal & Social Education, Citizenship, Psychology, Health & Social Care, Leisure & Tourism and Learning to Learn.
HUMANITIES
All students follow a Humanities programme when they enter the school in Year 7. This incorporates the separate disciplines of History, Geography and Religious Studies, as well as including a specialist Learning to Learn programme. This ensures all students understand how learning happens, how they learn best and how to manage their own learning processes.
HISTORY
History fires students' curiosity and imagination, moving and inspiring them with the dilemmas, choices and beliefs of people in the past. It helps students develop their own identities through an understanding of History at personal, local, national and international levels. It helps them to ask and answer questions of the present by engaging with the past.
Students find out about the history of their community, Britain, Europe and the world. They develop a chronological overview that enables them to make connections within and across different periods and societies. They investigate Britain's relationships with the wider world, and relate past events to the present day.
As they develop their understanding of the nature of historical study, students ask and answer important questions, evaluate evidence, identify and analyse different interpretations of the past, and learn to substantiate any arguments and judgements they make.
History equips students with knowledge and skills that are prized in adult life, enhancing employability and developing an ability to take part in a democratic society. It encourages mutual understanding of the historic origins of our ethnic and cultural diversity, and helps students become confident and questioning individuals.
Trips to a variety of locations help to engage students in the excitement of history and visits to places such as the World War II battlefields and the Auschwitz concentration camp, instil respect and awe for the contributions and sacrifices of earlier generations.
At Key Stage Four, students study areas of enquiry that are pertinent to their lives, such as the Northern Irish troubles, Germany 1915-1945, and Crime, Punishment and Protest; gaining insight and understanding into complex issues that shape our world.
GEOGRAPHY
Geography stimulates an interest in and a sense of wonder about places. It helps young people make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world. It explains where places are, how places and landscapes are formed, how people and their environment interact, and how a diverse range of economies, societies and environments are interconnected. It builds on students' own experiences to investigate places at all scales, from the personal to the global.
Geographical enquiry encourages questioning, investigation and critical thinking about issues affecting the world and people's lives, now and in the future. Fieldwork is an essential element of this. Students learn to think spatially and use maps, visual images and new technologies, including geographical systems (GIS), to obtain, present and analyse information. Geography inspires students to become global citizens by exploring their own place in the world, their values and their responsibilities to other people, to the environment and to the sustainability of the planet.
At Key Stage Four, students have the opportunity to pursue this as a GCSE course and also to take up the related programme of Leisure & Tourism. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is a popular Out of Hours Learning activity that complements and strengthens the skills and insights developed through these courses.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Religious Studies provoke challenging questions about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, beliefs about God, the self and the nature of reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human. It develops students' knowledge and understanding of Christianity, other principal religions, religious traditions, and world views that offer answers to these challenging questions. It offers opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development. It enhances students' awareness and understanding of religions and beliefs, teachings, practices and forms of expression, as well as of the influence of religion on individuals, families, communities and cultures.
RS encourages students to learn from different religions, beliefs, values and traditions, while exploring their own beliefs and questions of meaning. It challenges students to reflect on, consider, analyse, interpret and evaluate issues of truth, belief, faith and ethics and to communicate their responses.
RS encourages students to develop their sense of identity and belonging. It enables them to flourish individually within their communities and as citizens in a diverse society and global community. RS has an important role in preparing students for adult life, employment and lifelong learning. It enables students to develop respect for and sensitivity to others, in particular those whose faiths and beliefs are different from their own. It promotes discernment, enables students to combat prejudice and contributes significantly to the cohesive society to which we all aspire.
All students study RS at both Key Stages and at Key Stage Four follow a short course GCSE. This complements their short course Citizenship, generating an additional GCSE grade.
PERSONAL, SOCIAL, HEALTH AND ECONOMIC EDUCATION
Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education brings together personal, social and health education, work-related learning, careers, enterprise and financial capability. It promotes personal and economic well-being, framed around the Every Child Matters outcomes, which are:
- Be Healthy
- Stay Safe
- Enjoy and Achieve
- Make a Positive Contribution
- Achieve Economic Well-being
Careers education, sex and relationships and drug education are all included, along with the promotion of Social and Emotional aspects of learning.
All students follow a discrete programme throughout Key Stage Three and at Key Stage Four, the various elements are delivered through Citizenship, Religious Studies, across the curriculum and in special events.
CITIZENSHIP
Citizenship encourages students to take an interest in topical and controversial issues and to engage in discussion and debate. Students learn about their rights, responsibilities, duties and freedoms and about laws, justice and democracy. They learn to take part in decision-making and different forms of action. They play an active role in the life of their school, neighbourhood, community and wider society as active and global citizens. They have discussion groups, mock elections, visiting speakers and visits to Waltham Forest Council, the Houses of Parliament and further afield.
Citizenship encourages respect for different national, religious and ethnic identities. It equips students to engage critically with and explore diverse ideas, beliefs, cultures and identities and the values we share as citizens in the UK. Students begin to understand how society has changed and is changing in the UK, Europe and the wider world.
Citizenship addresses issues relating to social justice, human rights, community cohesion and global interdependence, and encourages students to challenge injustice, inequalities and discrimination. It helps young people to develop their critical skills, consider a wide range of political, social, ethical and moral problems, and explore opinions and ideas other than their own.
At Key Stage Four, all students study a half GCSE Citizenship course, combining it with a half GCSE Religious Studies course to provide students with a further GCSE grade.
PSYCHOLOGY : the study of human behaviour
Psychology is available as a popular and successful optional subject at Key Stage Four. It explores why people behave differently in groups, how people develop prejudices, why some do so much to help others, and why some are so aggressive. It looks at whether and how our early childhood is so crucial to our development, and explores issues of moral behaviour, memory and perception.
LEISURE & TOURISM
This is a course offered at Key Stage Four, leading to a double GCSE. It focuses on the Leisure & Tourism industries and studies marketing, facilities, activities and customer service. With London 2012 coming up, the skills and understandings this course develops will be in great demand and it provides a progression route into a range of career paths.