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Humanities

Curriculum Intent

Humanities: Our intent in Humanities is to foster a learning environment where students are confident, passionate and inquisitive learners which, in turn, enables them to become active, informed and tolerant citizens.

RE: To foster curiosity and enthusiasm for understanding religious and non-religious beliefs in society, so that students engage in meaningful discussions where they show respect and tolerance.

CURRICULUM AREA LEADER	MS MICKY TUMBER
EMAIL	MTUMBER@CAPITALCITYACADEMY.ORG

The Humanities department encompasses five subjects: History, Geography, Religious Studies, Sociology and Citizenship. At present, students study four subjects in Y7 and 8 on a Humanities carousel. In Year 9 students have the option of picking any of these subjects for GCSE, which they study for three periods a week each in Years 9-11.

All five subjects are an important part of your child’s curriculum and are taught by specialist teachers.

Geography

In Geography, students follow an engaging and challenging curriculum, designed to enable all to investigate both physical and human aspects of Geography. Students learn a wide range of skills such as map reading, data collection, ICT and problem solving as well as developing literacy and oracy skills.

Our curriculum is designed to challenge how students view the world, widen their horizons and provide them with an understanding of local and global Geographical issues.

The curriculum in Geography is designed to enable students to:

Advance students’ understanding of the features of the Earth, such as mountains and rivers and how they were formed
Develop an appreciation of the cultures and backgrounds of people from all over the world.
Stimulate curiosity and encourage students to cultivate a depth of knowledge and understanding of current events, from the local area to the global
Equip students with the ability to think critically about information they are presented with
Develop literacy and numeracy skills of all students

History

In History pupils follow an engaging and challenging curriculum designed to stimulate intellectual curiosity and develop sophisticated skills in, and understanding of, key issues in our past History that have shaped our national and global present. At CCA we have designed a KS3 Curriculum, and follow a GCSE and A-Level specification, that enables students to study different aspects of the past, so they can engage with key issues such as conflict, understand what drives change and how the past influences the present.

We aim to develop our pupils’ passion to engage with the past and be self-driven and curious learners who are keen to question both the past and understand how it has shaped our contemporary surroundings. Underpinning this ethos, students at Capital City Academy will, from the outset, engage with challenging Historical subject matter from Y7 and engage with overarching enquiry questions that act as an umbrella throughout Year 7 and Year 8, and help ground students to be confident and competent GCSE Historians from Year 9.

Holistically our curriculum is designed so that students write extended pieces twice per unit, allowing them to cultivate their resilience and develop rigorous analytical and evaluative writing skills.

The curriculum in History is designed to enable students to:

develop the ability to communicate clearly, accurately and effectively when speaking and writing about the past;
learn how to use a wide range of historical vocabulary and subject specific terminology accurately and confidently;
be inquisitive and lifelong learners who are interested in both the past and how it shapes the present;
experience a range of historical enquiries with an outwardly global focus to suit the demographic that we teach at Capital;
experience a range of topics that have had a significant influence on our English historical and cultural heritage;
develop their own interpretation skills and to make insightful, individual responses to source material.

Religious Education

In Religious Education pupils follow an engaging and challenging curriculum designed to develop an understanding of the world and the different religions within it. Our RE curriculum aims to stimulate intellectual curiosity and develop sophisticated skills in debating and literacy through extended writing. Students will have the opportunity to delve deeper into the beliefs and practices within society and further analyse theories allowing them to understand the development of religion. KS3 students will tackle religious questions within Geography and History such as theories of creation and how they relate to stewardship and dominionship of land; how the British Empire influenced religions in India; and how religions such as Christianity and Islam spread through Africa during the Civil Rights Movement.

Students in KS4, as part of the Edexcel GCSE specification, will study the following units:

Islam: Muslim Beliefs, Crime and Punishment, Peace and Conflict, Living the Muslim Life.
Christianity: Christian Beliefs, Marriage and Family, Matters of Life and Death, Living the Christian Life.

Sociology

Students have the option of studying Sociology at GCSE. The Sociology GCSE specification aims to stimulate intellectual curiosity and develop sophisticated skills in debating and critical thinking. Students study a wide range of political ideologies and debate how these impact on our society today. The subject helps students develop an understanding of the world and how sociologists study and understand its structures, processes and issues. Lessons are designed so that students write extended essays weekly, allowing them to develop analytical and evaluative writing skills. Students will study the following topics as part of the AQA GCSE specification:

Theories and perspectives: Marxism, Functionalism, The New Right, Feminism
Social stratification: what is social class, does class still exist, explanations of poverty, cycle of deprivation. Equality and disadvantage. Do we live in a meritocracy? Racism, sexism, ageism.
The sociology of education, its purpose and role in society. How is education used to control society, its advantages and disadvantages.
Crime and deviance: why do people commit crime? What are the different sociological explanations of this? What are the different solutions to crime? What are the agents of social control?
The sociology of the family: How are families changing in society and why? How does this affect society? What are the different sociological explanations of this?
Research methods: How is sociological research conducted? What are the different research methods and the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Citizenship

At Capital City Academy, students study Citizenships in Years 7 and 8. Citizenship education helps to equip young people to deal with situations of conflict and controversy knowledgeably and tolerantly. It helps to equip them to understand the consequences of their actions, and those of the adults around them.

Pupils learn how to recognize bias, evaluate arguments, weigh evidence, look for alternative interpretations, viewpoints and sources of evidence – to give good reasons for the things they say and do, and to expect good reasons to be given by others.

We aim to give students the knowledge and skills for participation.In Year 7 and 8 students will learn about the following topics:

Knowledge of the democratic system and its processes – not just the elected institutions, but also the other institutions of democracy such as the legal system, the media, political parties, and trades unions
Skills for citizenship – critical thinking, ethical reasoning, political literacy, debating, campaigning, advocacy and negotiating
Understanding our rights and responsibilities as citizens – both those that are enshrined in laws, and those governed by personal and societal values and ethics.

To give children and young people the confidence to participate. This includes:

Developing a belief and trust in the democratic and legal processes, alongside realism about the constraints and compromises inherent in democracy.
Resilience to challenges – the ability to withstand setbacks and seek to overcome barriers.
Optimism in the ability to make a difference – whatever our power or position, both as individuals and as communities.