Medieval Realms 1066-1485
This is a very exciting start to history at secondary school, full of colourful characters and events. It is also a period of great change; the Norman Conquest, feudalism, the struggles between the King, the Barons, the Church and the peasants. We also study everyday life in the countryside and the towns. Plague, foreign adventure, murder and revolting peasants; U3 study all of these!

L4/Y8 The Making of the UK
In L4 we follow the fortunes of the Tudors and Stuarts from the Battle of Bosworth and the accession of Henry VII through the turbulence of the English Reformation, Spanish invasion and finally the English Civil War,culminating in the execution of Charles I. L4 pupils examine the way the balance of power was shifting from the monarch to parliament. As an interesting contrast with the Glorious Revolution of 1688 we also look at the causes of the French Revolution a century later.

U4/Y9 Expansion, Trade and Empire  
The period after 1750 saw tremendous political, economic and social changes. The first two years of History at St Catherine's have largely concerned monarchy, the Church and the nobility. In U4 it is the turn of 'the people' to make their voices heard. We study the effects of industrialisation on peoples' lives, both the positive and the negative aspects. We ask why Britain became the first industrial nation, looking at factors such as entrepreneurship, empire and resources, both material and financial.

This was a time of political change with the extension of the franchise and so we look at the changing role of women. In the final term, there is a study of major events of the 20th century including the rise of Hitler, the Second World War, the Holocaust and Hiroshima.