The History Geography Department
Standards
Students’ attainment in both history and geography in each year group is good in relation to their ability. They achieve standards in lessons and in their written work that are above those of their peers in the UK. The results in the IGCSE history examinations over the last three years show a steadily rising trend. They are well above the average for all UK maintained schools undertaking similar examinations and are near the average for maintained selective schools. Most students taking the OIB reach standards that are equivalent to higher grades in the A-level examination in the UK.
Students’ attainment in class is always at least satisfactory and in two-thirds of the lessons seen it was good or very good in relation to their ability. No differences exist in performance between the various sites, although girls tend to do better in the younger age groups. Boys’ and girls’ standards are similar in the older ones. Students’ written work confirms the standards seen in lessons. They analyse and comprehend effectively a variety of historical sources and geographical data. They trace skilfully the causes and consequences of historical events and judge astutely the effects of settlement, change and development in geography. They discern patterns in data and argue cases cogently and persuasively and, as they grow older, with increasing confidence. For example, students in Premiere coped well with complex concepts and terminology in deducing how Stalin used show trials to shift the blame for failure from the state to individuals. Students’ notes indicated that they understood how his purges of military and naval personnel made the Russo-German Pact of 1938 inevitable. Aided by computer projection, they judged accurately the impact of poster propaganda.
Progress
The students’ above average performance in public examinations and in class work derives from the consistently good progress that they make from year to year. In all the lessons seen, students made at least satisfactory progress and in seven out of ten lessons it was never less than good and often rapid and sustained. Students gain knowledge and develop historical and geographical skills at a rate that is consistent with their ability. For example, students in Sixieme used the evidence provided in one lesson to determine the structure of society in ancient Sparta and reached a practical understanding of hierarchy and oligarchy as a result. Students in Troisieme made good progress in discerning the inter-relationship of the threats that faced the infant Louis XIII by building up, as a class, a ‘mind map’ of the factors involved. Students in Terminale gained secure understanding in a geography lesson of various models explaining under development in the Third World and tested them out on case studies. Thus, progress is made not only within lessons but also appropriately from year to year. As students move through the Section, they master increasingly complex data and concepts, such as continuity and change in history and the impact of human activity on the environment in geography.
The programmes of study enable students to make effective progress in acquiring knowledge and understanding in history and geography and to hone skills such as evaluating the reliability and bias in historical sources and modelling and statistical evaluation in geography.
Bilingual students’ command of English grows steadily within each year so that they cope well with the material that they study. Even those groups with significantly less experience of English make good progress in gaining and applying historical and geographical knowledge. For example, such a group in Seconde made extensive use of visual materials in the form of overhead transparencies and political cartoons to support their language development and to gain a secure understanding of the changing fortunes of Piedmont-Savoy in the unification of Italy. As a result of effective teaching, students with English as an additional language make good progress in acquiring and deploying the vocabulary and constructs necessary to express and explain historical and geographical ideas. By the time they reach premiere and Terminale, they are almost indistinguishable from those students who have English as their mother tongue.
Learning
The quality of students’ learning is consistently high. In eight out of every ten lessons seen, it was at least good and often very good. Students behave well and concentrate conscientiously even when the content is essential but does not immediately attract them. In all lessons, they show interest in the topics studied and all students, whatever their language background, contribute readily and appropriately to discussion. They listen attentively to their teachers and challenge courteously the opinions of others. Skilful questioning by teachers encourages even the hesitant to explain their ideas. For example, a Terminale group with a wide range of language backgrounds studying Attlee’s governments from 1945-51 used linguistically demanding contemporary documents to discuss collectively whether the Labour programme best fitted the criteria for a socialist or a social democratic party.
Students build up a useful range of learning skills. They gather information from books and other sources efficiently, and apply what they learn well. For example, a group in Seconde collected and evaluated data on domestic and industrial demand for coal in the 18th and 19th centuries and thereby explained the acceleration in economic activity in the Industrial Revolution. Students become skilled at looking for patterns and seeking explanations. For example, a Troisieme group analysed and explained the shifting pattern of involvement and alliances of states in the Thirty Years War. Students communicate well not only orally but also in their written work, which is largely in their own words. Some project and course work is of a very high standard. However, their learning skills are currently constrained by the lack of ready access to ICT. They cannot turn to it easily as a natural tool for learning to gather information, organise and synthesise it or, through subject-specific software, explore variables in historical and geographical investigations.
Teaching
The quality of teaching in history and geography is generally good throughout the Section. In the lessons seen, it was always at least sound and it was good and on occasions very good in seven out of ten lessons. It contributes effectively to students’ attainment, progress and learning. It is built on supportive relationships between teachers and students, and among students themselves. Teachers have a detailed command of their subject. The teaching is well planned, prepared and organised. Lessons are a well-chosen mix of teaching by telling, with clear and memorable exposition, and work as individuals, pairs or in small groups. Teachers undertake extensive discussion to ensure that students understand new material before asking them to set pen to paper. In the best practice in the younger age groups, the wording for notes is sought from the students themselves so that they feel a sense of ownership of the text when they put it into their notebooks. This lays good foundations for older students to make their own notes, most of which are accurate and well expressed.
The teaching encompasses a wide range of approaches that engage students’ interest and stimulate perceptive thinking. For example, students in Quatrieme created 15th century Florentine ‘newspapers’ to describe and explain the murder of Guiliano di Medici. In this case, the teaching and learning would have gained much from access to desktop publishing to present text and illustrations even more attractively. In contrast, another Quatrieme group benefited from high quality projected computer images in their exploration of the differences between medieval and Renaissance art and architecture, and the attitudes and beliefs that gave rise to the changes.
Teaching is supported well by the use of textbooks, source material and video clips. For example, an extract from ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ in a Troisieme class helped to explain why duelling in the 17th century was such a threat to royal authority. Drama is used to good effect. For example, groups in a Cinquieme class engaged enthusiastically in role-play, which helped them to understand the early history of Islam and its relevance to today. Such apposite use of a variety of approaches demonstrates the good quality of planning and preparation.
The teaching has high expectations of all students and they respond very positively to the demands placed upon them. The teaching groups are reasonably homogenous in terms of ability so that the same tasks are quite properly set to the whole class. As many assignments do not have predetermined outcomes, the most able students are able to reach their own ceiling of attainment. Those less experienced in English are grouped in identified sets and the teaching is pitched appropriately at levels that cover the ground and stretch but do not defeat them linguistically. Skilful questioning by teachers and opportunities to work in groups ensure that most students are drawn into active discussion.
Some scope exists to develop the teaching further, largely because in a few lessons the capacity of the students to learn outstrips the tasks that are set for them to do. For example, teachers do not routinely rehearse the meaning of new terms or concepts at the beginning of lessons to aid the understanding particularly of bilingual students. Although most lessons are organised well to make best use of the long ‘double’ periods, teachers do not routinely set deadlines for tasks within lessons to maintain pace in the teaching and learning. Nor do they generally leave sufficient time at the end of sessions to reinforce students’ learning and help them discern the broader picture from the detail covered. Some teachers’ writing on the white board is difficult to read and sets a poor example. It is also hard to decipher poorly projected OHT images. These necessary adjustments are easily accommodated within the current approaches to teaching and learning but the lack of access to ICT requires further investment and training in its use.
Recommendations
The teaching could be further improved by:
1. clarifying new terms or vocabulary at the beginning of lessons or units of work;
2. making the objectives for learning clear;
3. setting clear deadlines for tasks within lessons;
4. rounding off lessons or sections of lessons by reviewing and consolidating key learning points;
5. ensuring that information on whiteboards and projected transparencies is clear and legible.
Organisation and Management of the Department
The department is energetically led and managed effectively. It meets weekly and works actively on curricular and other developments not just administrative detail. For example, assessment is currently an area under development. Marking is prompt and accurate. At its best, it provides written comments on how to improve and clear marks or grades for attainment and effort. However, marking lacks consistency. The department is therefore developing assessment techniques and criteria by which to judge and grade attainment. These initiatives are well placed to sharpen assessment, make judgements more consistent and improve information to students and parents. The department currently has no baseline test in Sixieme so that its subsequent analysis of examination results to determine added academic value is relatively unsophisticated. Scope exists to investigate the performance of different groups, for example boys and girls, more thoroughly than at present.
Curriculum
The IGCSE examination is an attractive programme of study and provides a clear objective for students in Seconde coming together for the first time at the Lycee site. It also establishes a baseline of performance so that support can be targeted as necessary in the final two years. Most importantly, it gives students experience of a style of examination that they will have to face in the OIB. Some parents have expressed concern about the grades achieved. It is true that the proportion of A* and A grades is modest, largely because the course is studied over one year instead of two. However, no evidence exists that IGCSE results prejudice applications for places at UK universities. The department could with advantage ensure that some aspects of the course are broached during the last term in Troisieme or researched during the long summer vacation to relieve pressure on time in Seconde.
The history and geography curriculum is effective. It provides students with a useful mix of studies in depth and over longer periods. The topics, taken in chronological order, are an effective blend of British and French heritage studies within a wider European and world context. Students have access to and make good use of extensive book and non-book resources with the exception of ICT. The department makes extensive and sometimes excessive use of photocopied material. Each item should be subjected to the test of relevance and, particularly in the case of younger ones, should be capable of annotation or explanation by the students.
Staffing
The department benefits from well-qualified staff with a useful range of experience. The team is deployed to make good use of individuals’ interests and expertise. It works hard to enable students to achieve high standards but has differing views on how best this goal is reached. The regular meetings provide opportunities to establish consensus. Best practice and consistent implementation of department policies can be secured through occasional exchange of classes for specific topics and mutual lesson observation, within and outside the performance management scheme. The team makes satisfactory use of in-service training opportunities.
Accommodation
History and geography have established good working environments in the designated rooms at each site with effective displays of teaching aids and students’ work to help set standards and expectations. Some of the other rooms, for which they are timetabled at the Lycee, inhibit teaching and learning. They are too small and inappropriate in shape for the use of visual resources or to promote discussion and work in groups. They present an unacceptable learning environment.
Recommendations
In order to improve the quality of assessment and monitoring the department should:
1. establish a baseline of information on pupils’ performance in Sixieme against which it can measure progress made and value added by the section; investigate ways of preparing students for the IGCSE course in the last term of Troisieme;
2. develop a plan for the use of ICT in teaching, including necessary hardware and software and a programme of in-service training.