Westholme’s History department received some fantastic news yesterday when they were informed they had been awarded the Gold Historical Association Quality Mark. The Quality Mark (QM) is an award that recognises the excellence of history provision in a school. The QM assesses and values the history provision of the teacher, their department and the school and what is being offered to young people.
History at Westholme is definitely a popular subject and one that interests our students a great deal. The passion they have for this subject begins with our youngest students at the Infant and Junior Schools and by the time students reach Senior School, they really do enjoy expanding their knowledge of the subject.
A wide range of topics are covered and interactive lessons and Co Curricular activities help to bring the subject alive. Our recent display in the LRC of castles and shields that our Year 7 students have designed and taking part in our Concert of Remembrance to mark the centenary of the end of WWI last term are good examples of this. Trips and visits also enhance the curriculum which is diverse and always expanding; study on China and a further development of local history are new topics for our students. Other issues the students tackle have included a comparison of the Great Fire of London and Grenfell Tower. They found this subject to be interesting, despite its controversial and sensitive nature and our final report stated, “This focus area reflects on the confidence of our History department to engage in such issues to develop historical thinking among the pupils”.
Mr David Stewart, Head of History, commented, ‘The history department is very pleased to have attained the Quality Mark from the Historical Association. This accreditation focuses on standards in teaching and learning, the curriculum, pupil achievement and enrichment. Our vision as a department is now to further develop best practice, continue our hard work and retain our Gold Award in the future.’
Congratulations to the history department for this amazing achievement!
Share: