PSP History by Playful Scholarship Portfolio - Curriculum

PSP History

Playful Scholarship Portfolio - Curriculum

Only available to Students of Wimbledon High School GDST.

The History Pathway across Foundation, Pathways, and Advanced PSP cultivates analytical thought, evidence-based argument, and historical consciousness, equipping students for advanced study and critical engagement with the past. It enables them to explore diverse civilisations, societies, and ideas, while interrogating power, identity, and continuity through time.

At Foundation PSP (Years 7–8), students are introduced to the core methods and disciplinary habits of historians. Through topics spanning the Byzantine Empire, Islamic Golden Age, Mughal India, Mansa Musa’s Mali, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution, students develop historical vocabulary and learn to categorise, sequence, and contextualise events. Emphasis is placed on constructing supported claims, handling sources critically, and engaging with cause, consequence, and change. Students practise structured argument writing and begin to explore contested interpretations of the past, fostering early independence and curiosity.

In Pathways PSP (Years 9–11), students deepen their historical understanding through more specialised and controversial topics such as the World Wars, the Holocaust, the Scramble for Africa, Empire, and urban and migration histories. They refine their ability to construct arguments using historical criteria, evaluate multiple perspectives, and draw on primary sources with confidence and scepticism. Through the study of causation, significance, and interpretation, students enhance their analytical writing and historical judgement. The curriculum also incorporates local history and spatial thinking (e.g. Spitalfields study), encouraging awareness of how history is shaped by place as well as time.

At Advanced PSP (Years 12–13), students engage in rigorous historical inquiry through thematic and period studies including India (c.1914–48), the USA (c.1917–96), and British imperial history (c.1763–1914). Independent academic reading and note-making are central, and students develop evaluative writing that synthesises scholarship and interpretation. Extended essays, historiographical evaluation, and independent research projects foster originality, resilience, and academic confidence. They learn to analyse complex change over time, evaluate scholarly debates, and construct extended arguments rooted in evidence and historiography.

This pathway ensures that students progress from foundational historical literacy to independent inquiry and analytical sophistication, developing transferable skills in argumentation, interpretation, and cultural awareness — preparing them for university study, civic engagement, and informed citizenship.