Members of the department:

Richard Gallagher

Ray Mc Conville

Emma Neill

Patricia Dresen Martin

Cillian Walsh

Andrea Flynn

Our view of History at St. Patrick’s Grammar School

History is at once one of the most commonplace and subtle of subjects. Its popularity in books, films and television testifies to its instant appeal, reflecting the enjoyment in a good story, a hunger for knowledge of the past and a desire to enrich oneself mentally by intellectual travel in time and place.
The challenge is to come to terms with people and ways of life different from those we know now. Some of the ways people behaved in the past seem quite inexplicable, but the past is so much bound up in the present that the questions historians seek to answer often have contemporary relevance. That does not mean a study of history will enable man to solve all his problems. But the importance of trying to understand why men, for instance, were prepared to burn each other for religion's sake in the 16th Century, or why Hitler and the Nazis were ready to exterminate six million Jews, is clear if you are at all interested in human behaviour.
The study of history will provide not only the opportunity to understand the past but also a valuable training in the skills of research, assimilation, comprehension and analysis of a wide range of material, the formulation of reasoned interpretation, and the development of an ability to communicate clear and coherent judgements.
The Use of History
History is a well established subject which can serve as an appropriate academic springboard into a wide variety of courses in higher education and a diverse range of jobs. History graduates are recruited successfully into a considerable range of occupations which include the law, administration and management, buying, marketing and selling, accountancy and computing as well as teaching, librarianship and journalism. Discerning statesmen and employers have always valued the training history provides

KS3
After a brief introduction to key historical concepts, boys in Year 8 embark on an overview of Medieval Britain. This includes a study of the Norman Conquest, life in medieval times and the investigation of key events such as the Black Death.

In Year 9. We look at the enormous changes which transformed Europe, from Renaissance art to the Reformation of the Church, and we study the great conflicts which shaped Britain and Ireland, including the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the English Civil Wars ending with eighteenth and nineteenth Ireland.

Pupils’ passion for history is further developed in Year 10. We study the tumultuous changes in Irish politics and society in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which provides a context for the political diversity and division that, exists today.

History Topics

Year 8

History Year 10

GCSE
We have deliberately chosen dynamic and challenging units of study to fully engage the interest and enthusiasm of our middle-school students. The GCSE course begins with an in-depth analysis of Hitler’s Third Reich War. We then progress into a survey of the Cold War, from its beginnings in the ruins of Hitler’s Germany to its dramatic conclusion with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Finally, we conclude with an overview of Northern Ireland’s experience from 1965-1985.

A-Level
At AS and A2, pupils engage with a stimulating and demanding study of nineteenth and twentieth century Ireland and Europe. This includes a synoptic study of  Irish Nationalism. To add a European dimension, pupils study the rise and fall of Hitler and Revoloutionary Russia in Year 13 and, in Year 14, carry out a study of Ireland 1905-1925

AS History  Germany 1918-1945
This topic, dealing with one of the crucial parts of twentieth century history, allows pupils to immerse themselves in the highs and lows of Germany and the Germans. It is assessed by examination.
Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?
  How did Germany emerge from defeat in the 1st World War?
  What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany?
  To what extent did Germany recover after 1923?
  What were the achievements of the Weimar period?
Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934?
  What did the Nazi Party stand for in the 1920s?
  Why did the Nazis have little success before 1930?
  Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor by 1933?
  How did Hitler consolidate his power in 1933-4?
How effectively did the Nazis control Germany 1933-45?
  How much opposition was there to the Nazi regime?
  How effectively did the Nazis deal with their political opponents?
  How did the Nazis use culture and the mass media to control the people?
  Why did the Nazis persecute many groups in German society?
  Was Nazi Germany a totalitarian state?
What was it like to live in Nazi Germany?
  How did young people react to the Nazi regime?
  How successful were Nazi policies towards women and the family?
  Did most people in Germany benefit from Nazi rule?
  How did the coming of war change life in Germany?

AS History: Russia 1917-1941
This topic leads pupils to an understanding of the development of Communism in Russia, which was to have such an impact on the century, and the consolidation of the strength of the country and its leaders.
It is assessed by two pieces of coursework. The first requires pupils to show how change and causation can be analysed and explained in the establishment of Communist rule by Lenin's party. The second examines the securing and use of total power by Stalin. In it pupils will investigate the historical events, changes, people and issues in the Stalin period; develop understanding of how the Stalin period has been represented and interpreted over time; use historical sources critically in the historical context.
The course will investigate the following
Why did the Tsarist regime collapse in 1917?
  How well did the Tsarist regime deal with the difficulties of ruling Russia up to 1914?
  How did the Tsar survive the 1905 revolution?
  How far was the Tsar weakened by the First World War?
  Why was the revolution of March 1917 successful?
How did the Bolsheviks gain power, and how did they consolidate their rule?
  How effectively did the Provisional Government rule Russia in 1917?
  Why were the Bolsheviks able to seize power in November 1917?
  Why did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War?
  How far was the New Economic Policy a success?
How did Stalin gain and hold on to power?
  Why did Stalin, and not Trotsky, emerge as Lenin’s successor?
  Why did Stalin launch the ‘Purges’?
  What methods did Stalin use to control the Soviet Union?
  How complete was Stalin’s control over the Soviet Union by 1941?
What was the impact of Stalin’s economic policies?
  Why did Stalin introduce the Five-Year Plans?
  Why did Stalin introduce collectivisation?
  How successful were Stalin’s economic changes?
  How were the Soviet people affected by these changes?

How can I develop my full range of skills by doing this course?
As well as covering Advanced level study of History, this course will enable students to develop some Key Skills, which will be essential to whatever they go on to do afterwards. The Key Skills developed during this course are:
  Communication
  Information technology
  Problem solving
  Working with others
  Improving own learning and performance
History AS/A level offers plenty of opportunities to acquire the Key Skills. These will arise naturally during lessons and might include presenting ideas to the rest of the group, taking part in a discussion, using a computer database for research or working in a small group to investigate a historical problem.

History Trips

The year 8 History students will be visited by a norman roadshow in school.

Year 9 History students will remain in school where a group of historical actors will re-enact the issues surrounding the time of the plantation.

Year 10 pupils visit the Somme Centre. This is a constituent part of the curriculum and aids their understanding of the ICT task outlined by CCEA.