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Humanities

The Humanities faculty delivers the following subjects for pupils and students to enjoy:

KS3 - Integrated Curriculum (involves Geography, History and Religious Studies)
KS4 - Geography (GCSE), History (GCSE), Religious Studies (GCSE), Sociology (GCSE) and BTEC Level 2 in Travel and Tourism
KS5 - Geography (A-level), History (A-level), Sociology (A-level) and Applied Diploma Level 3 in Travel and Tourism

If you would like any further information regarding the work we do in our faculty please do not hesitate to contact us. You can find members of the faculty team here.

Humanities (KS3)

The Humanities Faculty is proud of its focus on challenging and engaging pupils to think for themselves.  Learning is focused on a variety of activities that seek to push the thinking skills of each individual. In Year 7 and Year 8, pupils undertake an integrated Humanities Curriculum which includes related units on Geography, History and RE. This provides a coherent experience for pupils starting at the school.  This is enhanced by the experience of having a single teacher who has a better understanding of how to push each pupil towards their own personal targets.

In Year 9 there is a separation of subjects in preparation for GCSE examinations. In all cases, pupils experience a total of 4 hours of teaching per week. 

Pupils undertake termly Homework Projects for which they take full responsibility.

What will be studied in Year 7

Geography units include Fantastic Places and Africa and Asia.  In History lessons, pupils investigate the Medieval England and Elizabeth I. Religious Education includes an Introduction to RS and Cradle to Grave.

What will be studied in Year 8

In Geography, studies include Risky World and Paradise Lost.  In History, key topics include the Freedom Road and World War One.  RE topics include Is there life after death? and Buddhism.

What will be studied in Year 9

The aim for year 9 is to develop skills and bridge the gap to GCSE.  In Geography lessons, pupils focus on Under the Sea and Global Challenges with a focus on increasing knowledge of issues at a local, national and global scale, as well as developing the core geographical skills of research, data presentation and analysis.

In History lessons, the focus is on the World War Two and the Cold War. This includes the potential positives and negatives of warfare on humanity, and the clash of democracy and dictatorship as ideologies. The focus is on understanding and evaluating cause and effect and the relationship between individuals and greater society.

The Year 9 RE course is based on two core issues: Ultimate Questions and It's not fair. Pupils are encouraged to increase their knowledge and understanding of the world and its people, as well as reflecting upon their own lifestyles, beliefs and opinions.

Geography (GCSE)

Geography is a subject for the curious and helps pupils make sense of the World around them. As Barrack Obama said, “The study of geography is about more than just memorising places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.”  

Studying Geography at Lydiard Park Academy will deepen understanding of geographical processes, the impact of complex people-environment interactions and the dynamic links between places and environments.  Geography is a subject which will develop transferrable skills including statistics, data analysis, ICT (GIS), problem-solving, report writing and graphical skills to apply to a wide variety of careers. 

Our specialist teachers will encourage and inspire all to become globally and environmentally informed and thoughtful, enquiring citizens.  We look forward to taking pupils on a journey of discovery across the World! 

We follow the AQA GCSE Geography syllabus at Lydiard Park Academy which includes: 

Paper 1 - Living with the physical environment 
Section A: The challenge of natural hazards 
Section B: The living world 
Section C: Physical landscapes in the UK 

Paper 2 - Challenges in the human environment 
Section A: Urban issues and challenges 
Section B: The changing economic world 
Section C: The challenge of resource management 

Paper 3 - Geographical applications 
Section A: Issue evaluation 
Section B: Fieldwork 
Geographical skills 

History (GCSE)

History teaches us to learn not only about the past but valuable lessons for the present too. As the philosopher George Santayana said: “Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it”.

At Lydiard Park Academy, History pupils are urged to question things they read and to investigate the impact of the provenance on the validity and utility of an interpretation. They are asked to judge the significance and impact of issues, events, and individuals before reaching a well explained and evaluative conclusion to their thoughts.

At Lydiard Park Academy we follow the Edexcel exam board for GCSE and study the following units:

  • Medicine and Health in Britain
  • Early Elizabethan England
  • Weimar and Nazi Germany
  • The Cold War and Superpower Relations

History is a hugely popular choice for many of our pupils at GCSE and we have fantastic specialist and experienced teachers to teach all classes. The study of History is not only fascinating and enjoyable, it is also a highly regarded subject which allows students to gain and practice a wide number of skills from evidence interrogation, to extended writing and debating.

Exam Board: Edexcel

Religious Studies (GCSE)

The GCSE in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics aims to engage, inspire, challenge and encourage pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to answer challenging questions.  Part 1 allows students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of Christian and Buddhist beliefs, teachings and practices. Part 2 looks at a range of philosophical and ethical issues. Students will be able to confidently articulate justified opinions on issues giving personal, religious and non-religious views.

Sociology (GCSE)

Sociology is the study of how society is organised and how we experience life. It has been taught in British universities since the very beginning of the twentieth century where sociologists do research into major social issues such as poverty and crime.

As a GCSE Sociology pupil you will study lots of interesting issues and topics such families, education, the media, crime and deviance and carry out research projects involving interviewing people and observations.

You would also watch documentaries, analyse news reports, work on computers, discuss important issues with your friends and hopefully go on a few trips.