SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON
SUBJECT SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FOR PGCE SECONDARY AND SCHOOL
DIRECT SECONDARY INTERVIEW CANDIDATES

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR HISTORY PGCE CANDIDATES
Prepare for the interview firstly by arranging a visit to the History department in a local
state secondary school. You will be asked about your experiences there. If you are
already working in a secondary school or have spent time in a school as a volunteer,
you will already have had a chance to reflect on what schools are like now.

Find out about old and new versions of the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3, using
the web.

You will be asked about the relevance of your degree studies to teaching at KS3 from
September 2016, and you will be given an initial subject audit to help you.

There will be a group interview and a short written task common to all secondary
subjects. To prepare for these, use reflections on school observations to identify an
educational issue you would like to discuss. This could be something related to
curriculum changes or an aspect of the life of teachers.

There will be an individual interview. You are not expected to produce any lesson
plans, but you should prepare a visual resource that you think you could use in a
classroom to engaging year 7 with the topic of the Black Death, using resources
selected from the links shown below.
The Black Death (c 1348)
Choose an image you could use with a Year 7 group. Bring a copy with you. Consider
what questions you might ask about the text or the image. Think also about what questions
learners might ask you.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/middle_ages/black_01.shtml
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/plague.htm
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/diseases/black_death.aspx
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/shp/middleages/medievaldoctorsre
v1.shtml
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~afutrell/w%20civ%2002/plaguereadings.html
For any further queries about this Subject Specific Guidance or the Subject Audit
below please e-mail the Subject Tutor A.Messer@roehampton.ac.uk.
Admissions-subjectspecificguidance&audit/jec/pgcesec/10.15
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON
SUBJECT SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FOR PGCE SECONDARY AND SCHOOL DIRECT SECONDARY INTERVIEW CANDIDATES
INITIAL HISTORY SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE AUDIT: KS3 and overview KS4-5
Candidate’s name:
Bring a completed version of this audit with you to the interview. It is NOT, however, used as part
of the selection process. We use this to adapt our sessions to address ways to develop specific
subject knowledge and to help you organise your reading if you gain a place. Please fill it in
honestly: so that it is useful in helping us to support the development of your subject knowledge.
 Use this link to understand about the new National Curriculum:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210969/NC_framework_document__FINAL.pdf
 Look also at examination board outlines for new GCSE courses, search for Edexcel, AQA, OCR and WJEC
Show –for each period/theme- your level of study; how recent this study was, and your confidence about your
subject knowledge in each area using colours: green for highly confident, yellow for some confidence and red
for low confidence. We expect all three colours to appear on your audit.
Admissions-subjectspecificguidance&audit/jec/pgcesec/10.15
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON
SUBJECT SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FOR PGCE SECONDARY AND SCHOOL DIRECT SECONDARY INTERVIEW CANDIDATES
Key stage/unit
Topics
Level of
How recent
Confidence
study
e.g. 6 months
Colour code
These are some of the events and issues that will
e.g. at
ago, twenty
green/High
be covered at KS3 from September 2014 (many
University, at years
Yellow/Med.
topics present in previous versions of NC)
GCSE
Red/low
confidence
The development of
This could include:
Church, state and society the Norman Conquest
in Medieval Britain 1066- Christendom, the importance of religion and the
1509
Crusades
the struggle between Church and crown
Magna Carta and the emergence of Parliament
the English campaigns to conquer Wales and
Scotland up to 1314
society, economy and culture e.g. feudalism,
religion in daily life (parishes, monasteries, abbeys),
farming, trade and towns (especially the wool trade),
art, architecture and literature
the Black Death and its social and economic
impact
the Peasants’ Revolt
the Hundred Years War
the Wars of the Roses; Henry VII and attempts to
restore stability
The development of
This could include:
Church, state and society Renaissance and Reformation in Europe
in Britain 1509-1745
the
English
Reformation
and
Counter
Reformation (Henry VIII to Mary I)
the Elizabethan religious settlement and conflict
with Catholics (including Scotland, Spain and
Ireland)
Admissions-subjectspecificguidance&audit/jec/pgcesec/10.15
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON
SUBJECT SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FOR PGCE SECONDARY AND SCHOOL DIRECT SECONDARY INTERVIEW CANDIDATES
the first colony in America and first contact with
India
the causes and events of the civil wars
throughout Britain
the Interregnum (including Cromwell in Ireland)
the Restoration, ‘Glorious Revolution’ and power
of Parliament
the Act of Union of 1707, the Hanoverian
succession and the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and
1745
society, economy and culture across the period:
e.g. work and leisure in town and country, religion
and superstition in daily life, theatre, art, music and
literature
Ideas, political power,
industry and empire:
Britain, 1745-1901
This could include:
the Enlightenment in Europe and Britain, with
th
links back to 17 Century thinkers and scientists and
the founding of the Royal Society
Britain’s transatlantic slave trade: its effects and
its eventual abolition
the Seven Years War and The American War of
Independence
the French Revolutionary wars
Britain as the first industrial nation – the impact
on society
party politics, extension of the franchise and
social reform
the development of the British Empire with a
depth study (e.g. of India)
Admissions-subjectspecificguidance&audit/jec/pgcesec/10.15
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON
SUBJECT SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FOR PGCE SECONDARY AND SCHOOL DIRECT SECONDARY INTERVIEW CANDIDATES
Ireland and Home Rule
Darwin’s ‘On The Origin of Species’
Challenges for Britain,
In addition to studying the Holocaust, this could
Europe and the wider
include:
world 1901 to the present women’s suffrage
day
the First World War and the Peace Settlement
the inter-war years: the Great Depression and the
rise of dictators
the Second World War and the wartime
leadership of Winston Churchill
the creation of the Welfare State
Indian independence and end of Empire
social, cultural and technological change in postwar British society
Britain’s place in the world since 1945
A local history study
For example:
a depth study linked to one of the British areas of
study listed above
a study over time, testing how far sites in their
locality reflect aspects of national history (some sites
may predate 1066)
a study of an aspect or site in local history dating
from a period before 1066
The study of an aspect or
theme in British history
that consolidates and
extends pupils’
chronological knowledge
from before 1066
For example:
the changing nature of political power in Britain,
traced through selective case studies from the Iron
Age to the present
Britain’s changing landscape from the Iron Age to
the present
Admissions-subjectspecificguidance&audit/jec/pgcesec/10.15
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON
SUBJECT SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FOR PGCE SECONDARY AND SCHOOL DIRECT SECONDARY INTERVIEW CANDIDATES
a study of an aspect of social history, such as the
impact through time of the migration of people to,
from and within the British Isles
a study in depth into a significant turning point
e.g. the Neolithic Revolution
At least one study of a
significant society or
issue in world history and
its interconnections with
other world
developments
For example:
Mughal India 1526-1857; China’s Qing dynasty
1644-1911; Changing Russian empires c.1800-1989;
th
USA in the 20 Century.
Examination classes 14-19
Look at the following topics and highlight areas of expertise in green, areas for development in yellow and unfamiliar areas in red.
Add others you studied if you wish. For ideas of topics covered use the web to visit examination board requirements.
Year/course
GCSE: Mix of AQA, OCR
and Edexcel
Common topics in past examinations, some remain current
SHP American West
Medicine through time
Crime and punishment
British society 1906-1918
Russian Revolution, Stalin
USA 1919-41 and 1941-80
Admissions-subjectspecificguidance&audit/jec/pgcesec/10.15
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON
SUBJECT SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FOR PGCE SECONDARY AND SCHOOL DIRECT SECONDARY INTERVIEW CANDIDATES
International Relations 1919-39
Superpowers/Cold War
World War 1
Rise of Nazi Germany
Holocaust
Origins WW2
Home Front
Vietnam
Arab/Israel conflict
AS/A2
Nazi Germany
GB and Ireland 1798-1921
Large range of topics
Gladstone and Disraeli
taught – here are some Hitler and Stalin
popular ones in the past Tudor and Stuarts 1485-1603
Interwar Britain
Russian Rev and Stalin’s Russia
Napoleon
GB 1750-1900
Civil Rights USA
Fascist Italy
English Reformation
Colonisation of Africa
Admissions-subjectspecificguidance&audit/jec/pgcesec/10.15