Humanities Faculty

Miss P Briant- briantp@denbigh.net
Mrs J Campbell- campbellj@denbigh.net
Mrs L Chrisman- chrismanl@denbigh.net
Ms L Conway- conwayl@denbigh.net
Miss L Dale- dalel@denbigh.net
Ms L Donohue- donohuel@denbigh.net
Miss G Fletcher- fletcherg@denbigh.net
Mr P Gannaway- gannawayp@denbigh.net
Miss C Griffiths- griffithsc@denbigh.net
Mrs R Martin- martinr@denbigh.net
Mr P Myers- myersp@denbigh.net
Mrs L Oscroft- oscroftl@denbigh.net
Mrs S Rahman- rahmans@denbigh.net
Mrs H Rowe- roweh@denbigh.net
Mr C Scott- scottc@denbigh.net
Mrs S Shepherd- shepherds@denbigh.net
Mrs S Smith- smiths@denbigh.net
Mrs J Staincliffe- staincliffej@denbigh.net
Miss Y Upadhyay- upadhyayy@denbigh.net
Mr J Waters- watersje@denbigh.net
Mrs J Whitaker- whitakerj@denbigh.net

Faculty Introduction

The Humanities Faculty includes the subjects of Geography, History & Philosophy, Religion and Ethics (PRE).  We are made up of eight History specialists and eight Geography specialists and amongst the team, we also have five Religion and Philosophy teachers.  We are very proud to offer a rich and diverse curriculum across all key stages and are passionate about giving our young people the best possible start to understanding a range of world views and perspectives across all three disciplines.

The Humanities curriculum aims to build a strong community of enquirers that will encourage our students to feel inspired to learn beyond the curriculum and never be afraid to ask questions so that they become well-informed citizens of the world. All students at Denbigh are taught Geography, History and PRE in Years 7 and 8 for 1 hour per week per subject.  In Year 9, one of Geography or History is studied as a 3-year GCSE subject, being examined at the end of Year 11.  In Year 10, students can choose to study, as part of their wider GCSE options, GCSE Religious Studies and Geography or History.  All of our subjects are offered at A-Level.

We have a very successful record of students leaving Denbigh to continue their studies in a Humanities subject at Universities across the country, including recent students studying History at both Oxford and Cambridge and Geography at Cambridge, as well as at many of the leading Russell Group Universities, for example, Theology at King’s College London.

We are an ambitious Faculty with a strong team of subject specialists.  We wish to instil in our student’s hunger and thirst for knowledge of the world’s past, present and future and to have the confidence to go out into society and face challenging issues with humility.  Below you will find more information about each subject.  

We have designed our curriculum based on the following principles:

• Diversity – to reflect the diverse student body of the Denbigh community and teach our students to respect and value difference as well as being confident in their own perspectives.
• Inclusivity – we want all our students to feel included in the stories we share so that they can build a strong community together for a better future.
• Powerful knowledge – we want our students to be exposed to powerful knowledge so that they have an influence in society and confidence in entering discussions and debates in different spaces without feeling intimidated.
• Freethinking – we aim to strengthen their intellectual resilience and give them the tools to confidently challenge and reflect on complex problems to help them become reflective citizens.

Schemes of Learning

Each faculty has developed a Scheme of Learning for each subject and year group. The Schemes of Learning outline the curriculum journey that students will embark on each academic year.

Geography

Philosophy, Religion and Ethics

Key Words for Year 7 History – Summer

Key Term	Definition
Anglo-Saxons	People who migrated to England from parts of central Europe from the fifth century.
Anti-semitic	Prejudice against Jewish people.
Migration	Movement of people from one place (or country) to another.
Persecution	Hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefs.
Huguenot	A French Protestant of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Empire	Group of areas ruled over by one person.
Independence	A nation’s freedom to make its own decisions.
Vikings	People who originated from Denmark and Norway who raided England from the 8th century.
Normans	The North-men who were originally Vikings and settled in northern France.
Catholic	The universal Church under the rule of the Pope in Rome.

Key Words for Year 7 Geography – Summer

Key Term	Definition
Geological Time	The whole of Earth’s history split into geological periods of time that relate to specific, Earth changing events.
Water Cycle	The journey water takes as it moves from the land to the sky and back again. It follows a cycle of evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
Weathering (chemical, mechanical, temperature)	Describes the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on the surface of the Earth. Water, ice, acids, salts, plants, animals, and changes in temperature are all agents of weathering.
Erosion (ice, wind, water)	Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as ice, wind, or water.
Transportation (rivers, coastlines, glacial valleys)	Describes the moving of rocks and debris by water in rivers or the sea, and by icey glaciers.
Deposition (rivers, coastlines, glacial/post glacial landscapes)	The laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice.
Glaciation	The formation of glaciers and the process by which they shape the landscape around them is called glaciation.
Coastal Change	Describes the ever-changing coast because of constant wave action and weathering of the land where it meets the sea.
Geographical Enquiry	A study to determine whether a geographical hypothesis is correct. Presented as a report including an introduction, methodology, data collection, data analysis, conclusion, evaluation of methods and suggestions.

Key Words for Year 8 History – Summer

Key Term	Definition
Vietcong	Communist guerrilla movement in Vietnam.
Guerrilla	Type of warfare that relies on surprise raids and sabotaging communication and supply lines.
Communism	Political ideology which promotes the common ownership of industry and production with no private owners.
Containment	US policy of attempting to stop the spread of communism.
Domino Theory	Idea that if one country fell to communism others would follow, like toppling dominos.
Draft dodger	Someone who tries to avoid being called up into the armed forces.
Massacre	The killing of a large number of people at the same time in a violent and cruel way.
Napalm	Chemical weapon that sticks to surfaces and burns at high temperatures.
Propaganda	Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature used to promote a political cause or point of view.
United Nations	International organisation to promote peace, security and co-operation.

Key Words for Year 8 Geography – Summer

Key Term	Definition
Geological Time	The whole of Earth’s history split into geological periods of time that relate to specific, Earth changing events.
Water Cycle	The journey water takes as it moves from the land to the sky and back again. It follows a cycle of evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
Weathering (chemical, mechanical, temperature)	Describes the breaking down or dissolving of rocks and minerals on the surface of the Earth. Water, ice, acids, salts, plants, animals, and changes in temperature are all agents of weathering.
Erosion (ice, wind, water)	Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as ice, wind, or water.
Transportation (rivers, coastlines, glacial valleys)	Describes the moving of rocks and debris by water in rivers or the sea, and by icey glaciers.
Deposition (rivers, coastlines, glacial/post glacial landscapes)	The laying down of sediment carried by wind, flowing water, the sea or ice.
Glaciation	The formation of glaciers and the process by which they shape the landscape around them is called glaciation.
Coastal Change	Describes the ever-changing coast because of constant wave action and weathering of the land  where it meets the sea.
Geographical Enquiry	A study to determine whether a geographical hypothesis is correct. Presented as a report including an introduction, methodology, data collection, data analysis, conclusion, evaluation of methods and suggestions.

Extra Curricular

As a Faculty we offer an extraordinary extra-curricular programme that takes our students beyond the curriculum.  We offer many clubs and trips which give our students rich cultural experiences outside of the classroom.  Our extra-curricular activities include the Magistrates Court Competition, the Bar Mock Trial Competition, the Family Court Competition, Eco schools Satellite Group, Youth SACRE Satellite Group, the Holocaust Memorial Ambassadors group, Black History club, History Club and Philosophy club.

We also offer many trips.  The History Team takes all Year 7 students to Warwick Castle and Year 11 students to different historical places such as, The Globe theatre, Hardwick Hall and National Maritime Museum.  There have also been visits to the Battlefields in France and the Imperial War Museum.  The Geography Team offer fieldwork days and in the past students have visited Bournemouth, Birmingham and conducted local studies here in Milton Keynes.  Our GCSE students have the opportunity to attend residential trips to Berlin (History Y10) and Barcelona (Geography Y10).  Our GSCE Philosophy students visit the British Library to take part in the sacred texts workshop, the British Museum to explore the galleries of European History, Islamic civilization and Ancient Indian civilization. They will also visit St. Paul’s Cathedral and Regent’s Park Mosque and get the opportunity to attend Philosophy conferences in Cambridge or Oxford.

In the Sixth Form, Geography students go to Birmingham and St Margaret’s Bay for fieldwork opportunities in Year 12. Year 13 students have a residential trip to the Lake District to complete their coursework. Philosophy and Ethics students will attend academy conferences in Oxford and Cambridge every year to listen to renown scholars and get the opportunity to meet and engage in debates with students from some of our most prestigious private schools in the country.