Humanities

What is our curriculum intent?

Humanities is the study of the world around us. At Valence, humanities includes the study of history, geography, and religious education. These are subjects which have an important impact on everyone’s lives. Our main intention in humanities is to inspire curiosity, provide understanding and experiences of our world and its past and develop an understanding of beliefs and customs. We focus on developing skills to allow students to explore, analyse and think critically about the world (evidence-based learning). These are important skills for all our young people to have in today’s world, becoming not only British citizens, but also global citizens. At all levels of humanities, it is important to use real life, current case studies so that students are aware of events and can contextualise learning, in order to enrich their cultural capital.

How does the delivery of our curriculum differ between the pathways?

In the Simmonds pathway, students working below Entry Level to Entry Level 1 in humanities are placed on the AQA Unit Award Schemes to complete units in geography, history, and RE. Students working at Entry Level 2-3 are placed on the WJEC EL Pathways Humanities accredited course. For AQA UAS and WJEC Entry Level Pathways, units are chosen that allow for geography, history, and RE to be covered each academic year.

In the Hawking pathway, KS3 students follow the National Curriculum for geography and history. In RE, students follow the Kent agreed syllabus. The curriculum at Valence is inclusive and ambitious, allowing students to work at their own pace while building a knowledge of the local and global world around them, past and present. If the timetable permits, there is the option of Eduqas GCSE History, and KS5 students can complete a WJEC EL Pathways in Personal, Social Development or AQA UAS units at Level 1, 2 or 3.

Do our students have access to learning opportunities outside the classroom?

KS3 students celebrate Holocaust Memorial Day and Fairtrade Fortnight, as these events are part of KS3 curriculum. Furthermore, there are educational visits to religious buildings to help consolidate students’ learning. The humanities department also organises Valence representatives to be at the Westerham Remembrance Sunday Service every year.