• The SHP History syllabus builds upon and develops the skills that have been nurtured at Key Stage 3. In the first unit, ‘The American West; The Struggle for the Plains’, students will be required to undertake a more traditional approach to the study of History, focusing upon the one unit in depth. This will involve studying the Great Plains Indians, The Early Settlers, Homesteaders, Law and Order and The Indian Wars.

• The second unit studied, ‘The Impact of War on Britain 1914-50’, encourages students to develop enquiry skills through the analysis of sources, separately and in combination, within their context. This will involve studying such aspects as how the government mobilized the people for the war effort as well as considering the long-term effects of wartime changes on civilian life during and in between the wars.

• The third unit, ‘Medicine and Treatment’, takes a comparative approach to the study of History, requiring students to understand and evaluate the development of medical practices from 1350 to the present day. This comparative approach develops high- level skills, which are crucial for the study of History at IB level, making students aware of trends and patterns, changes and turning points across a broad period of time.

• The fourth unit, ‘China 1945-76’, gives the students an opportunity to analyse and evaluate representations of History, as well as carrying out a historical enquiry which allows them to make links effectively. This will involve studying such aspects as the triumph of communism and the creation of the communist state in China as well as weighing up whether Mao was a hero or a villain.