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HEAD OF HUMANITIES

Mr B Bujarh

• Excel academically:
  • To support students to make exceptional progress in History, Geography and Religious Studies.
• Think critically:
  • To support pupil’s critical self-discovery and self-reflection.
  • To help them explore their place in the world and develop their own values
• Develop their talents:
  • To help prepare pupils for their life beyond school.

The Humanities faculty is committed to academic excellence and cultural enrichment, where all students progress through outstanding teaching & learning. We aim to create global citizens with a mission for lifelong learning, who are aware of the past, present and future world around them. The Humanities faculty places significance on pupil’s self – discovery and self-reflection, through questioning, Investigation and critical thinking. Humanities pupils, explore their place in the world and develop their own values and responsibilities to make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world, from the local to the global. The Humanities faculty aims to prepare pupils for the world of work, the modern environment and their local communities. 

Humanities History 

• The history curriculum supports the ethos of the school, through adopting the AS One values of the school. This is evidenced in lessons where pupils show resilience and responsibility in their learning journey. As a knowledge rich curriculum we believe that core knowledge underpins all learning. This content is delivered through a carefully planned curriculum which builds on previous knowledge and helps pupils understand topics in a wider context, reteach week(s), Do now and low stake tests are regular features in history lessons. To deepen, and broaden pupils' knowledge about forgotten heroines and histories of people, the faculty uses bespoke booklets to explore and enrich  knowledge of these neglected public history makers. 
• We build cultural capital of our pupils through a number of initiatives, such as forming links with Universities, where pupils are exposed to University talks around careers. All history pupils also have access to cultural events such as exhibitions – which are delivered through the Ann Frank exhibition and youth empowerment programme.   We are constantly improving pupils' understanding of wider culture, through exposure to politics, film and academic journals aimed at developing an understanding of the wider world issues. Pupils learning is broadened by the exposure to good academic articles notably on women, Black and asian societies and contemporary issues. 
•  The overall intention of the faculty is to create good historians, where pupils think, act and speak like those working in the field. Underpinning the development of historians are the key concepts, which we consider as the drivers of history. Pupils are expected to become well versed in the application of Cause & Consequence / Change & Continuity and Significance. 
• The TKAW history curriculum wants our pupils to achieve academic excellence, but we also firmly believe that the curriculum goes beyond what is examinable The wider history curriculum also marks important events such as Holocaust Memorial Day, where guest speakers (Holocaust survivor(s) are invited to school, to share their powerful testimonies. Such events help mark important anniversaries and help pupils see the relevance of history in the modern world. 
• British values are illustrated in numerous lessons, eg discussions around, democracy underpin learning in the Weimar Germany topic of work and tolerance is examined when studying migration in year 7. The recent redesign of our KS 3 curriculum helps students to develop a broad understanding of how Britain has changed, pre 1066 – to the modern day. The dept has developed a number of bespoke units which deal with current issues in the news, such as Black & British, British Identity. Through exploring the history of these issues we aim to help pupils grasp a better understanding of the world they are growing up in. 
• Our choices of GCSE and A level exam boards ensure pupils study a wide range of history and are able to make comparisons within and across periods, thus being fully equipped for the study of history at a higher level of for work in the field. It is an expectation that all pupils will be able to understand the significance of historical events, the role of individuals in history and the nature of change over time. History will help them to gain a deeper understanding of the past through political, social, economic and cultural perspectives. 

Humanities Geography

The Humanities faculty is committed to academic excellence and cultural enrichment, where all students progress through outstanding teaching & learning. We aim to create global citizens with a mission for lifelong learning, who are aware of the past, present and future world around them, including digital technologies. The Humanities faculty places significance on pupil’s self – discovery and self-reflection, through questioning, Investigation and critical thinking. Humanities pupils, explore their place in the world and develop their own values and responsibilities to make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world, from the local to the global. The Humanities faculty aims to prepare pupils for the world of work, the modern environment and their local communities.

The geography curriculum supports the ethos of the school, through adopting the AS One values of the school. This is evidenced in lessons where, pupils show resilience and responsibility in their learning journey. As a knowledge engaged curriculum we believe that core knowledge underpins all learning. This content is delivered through a carefully planned curriculum which builds on previous knowledge and helps pupils understand topics in a wider context, reteach week(s), Do now and low stake tests are regular features in geography lessons.

We build cultural capital of our pupils through a number of initiatives, such as forming links with Universities, recent visits have been to Oxford and Birmingham Universities where pupils were exposed to University talks and guided tours by undergraduate students. In addition, students visit Carding Mill valley in Shropshire to explore an ancient river valley to understand how water can alter landscapes. We are constantly improving pupils understanding of wider culture, through exposure to politics, film and academic journals aimed at developing an understanding of the wider world issues. For example, students are expected to undertake wider reading of newspaper articles concerning many contemporary issues such as climate change.

The overall intention of the geography curriculum is to create engaging geographers’, where students think, act and speak like those working in the field. Underpinning the development of geographers’ are the key concepts, which we consider as the drivers of geography. Students are expected to become well versed in the application of many local, national and global geographical concepts.

The TKAW geography curriculum wants our pupils to achieve academic excellence, but we also firmly believe that the curriculum goes beyond what is examinable The wider geography curriculum also aims to engage and enable students to think about many of the current issues facing the world including movement to net zero, climate change and sustainability. Moreover, we want students to develop their knowledge and understanding of cultural landscapes, instilling in them a curiosity to explore and enjoy local, national and international landscapes with their families and friends later on in life.

British values are illustrated in numerous lessons, for example discussions around, cultural diversity in studying population. Tolerance is examined when studying

migration. The recent redesign of our KS 3 curriculum helps students to develop a broad understanding of physical, human and environmental concepts.

Our choices of GCSE and A level exam boards ensure pupils study a wide range of geographical issues. To enable them to be fully equipped for the study of geography at a higher level or for work in the field. It is an expectation that all pupils will be able to understand the significance of geographical concepts. Geography will help them to gain a deeper understanding of their place in the world developing political, social, economic and cultural perspectives. Finally it is our intent that students continue to explore, gain understanding and enjoy finding out about the world in which they live once they have left TKAW.

HUMANITIES RS

KS3:

The RS curriculum at KS3 and KS4 supports the Sikh ethos and values of the school and also reflects the multicultural nature of our country and region. At Year 7 KS3 begins with investigations of the five major religions of the U.K as well as non-religious / humanist views. The rest of KS3 builds upon and revisits this as we look at key issues facing our world including as Ultimate Questions, The Big Bang, Evolution, Life after Death, The Environment, Poverty and Crime and Punishment. 
A key focus is to instil tolerance of different beliefs and views within our students. This is a key element of the British Values we are trying to promote in RE. Students are also encouraged to express their own opinions and beliefs. Thus, in year 7 and 8 lessons with a focus on Islam our Muslim students are encouraged to share their beliefs and experiences. Similarly with the other faiths we look at.
Students are able to develop their knowledge and understanding of Religious Studies in a variety of ways. Oracy and discussion is a key element of RS lessons at TKAW. Similarly the vast majority of lessons will include at least one video clip. This is, of course, in addition to more traditional book based reading and writing activities.
There are also strong links with the other Humanities departments. For example many lessons will include the Geographical and Historic origins of a faith. Investigations of Environmental issues also have a key geographical element. Topics such as Racial Equality in Year 9 have a heavy Historical element including the struggle for Racial Equality and Civil Rights. Similarly the topic of Anne Frank studied in History is linked to the study of Judaism in R.S.

GCSE:

The AQA course was chosen after extensive research by Mr Mason when he joined the school. Including conversations with an AQA Examiner Team Leader.
At GCSE we build upon what students have learnt in Ks3 and, in keeping with the nature of our school, we are one of the few (possibly only) schools in the country to follow the AQA Sikhism module.