THE SCHOOL

Subject Departments: Humanities

Business Studies / Economics Department

Business Studies is a popular GCSE option, and a solid basis for Economics, which can be studied at both AS and A2 Levels.

The rationale of the Department is to develop, stimulate and maintain student curiosity and interest in - and enjoyment of - Business Studies and Economics. To that end, the Department employs a range of teaching styles, all designed to promote the students' personal engagement. From one point of view, the subject is utterly practical, and students are placed in the position in which business decisions would have to be made. But equally, the subject is an engrossing intellectual challenge, and older students will be called upon to consider (for example) the ways of the Stock Market, and the macro-management of a National Economy.

For GCSE, Business Studies AQA Specification B is studied, and students are introduced to the world of business as it might affect them as consumers, workers - and perhaps, producers. The experience of the students themselves is drawn upon to give meaning and relevance to their studies. Students are encouraged to monitor and evaluate their own progress.

In the Sixth Form, the AQA Economics Syllabus is studied. The British economy and its component markets are carefully analysed, and as a student's understanding of the economic systems begins to grow, s/he is encouraged to undertake private research in an area of personal interest - under the close supervision of members of the Department.

Over the years, Economics has proved a highly rewarding area of study, and this year the Department was able to celebrate the achievement of First Class Degrees by two former students.

Geography Department

The Department is committed to stimulating student interest in and enjoyment of geography, across the wide range of what the subject has to offer. By the end of a course of study, the Blue Coat student will be familiar with a substantial body of knowledge, and be well schooled in the principles and vocabulary of the discipline. But s/he will also have developed an awareness of the implications of geography for the individual, the community and the environment. Finally - and not least - the student will have been encouraged and supported in the formation of his or her own informed opinions.

To these ends, a variety of teaching methods are employed, catering for the range of different learning methods of individual students, and so promoting the widest possible access to the subject, irrespective of gender, academic ability and ethnic origin.

At Key Stage 3, Schemes of Work are designed to deliver the requisite knowledge in a clear and systematic fashion. The Department provides an enquiry-based approach to geographical themes and concepts. Pupils will develop the skills of recognising and describing patterns of the inter-relatedness of factors which affect the local, national, and global environment.

At Key Stage 4 (GCSE), students study AQA Syllabus B, covering topics relating the UK, the EU, and some wider, global issues. Students will develop an awareness of Physical, Human and Environmental forces which operate in the world today, and begin to develop a mature understanding of how they may be dealt with by the people of our age. They will also receive a grounding in the techniques and skills which are needed to perform serious and scientific geographical enquiries.

In the sixth form, students study AQA specification B. The AS course consists of three units: the Dynamics of Change, in both the Physical and Human Environments; the Physical Geography Option; the Human Geography Option. The A2 course covers: Global Change to both the Physical and Human Environments; a Synoptic Unit on Human Decision-Making and the Environment; the Practical Paper, which assesses field- work skills which will have been acquired during the lower-sixth year. By the end of sixth-form study, students will have gained insight into contemporary social, economic, political, and physical-geography issues, and be able, as informed geographers, to express their views on ongoing debates which are central to our life on this planet.

History Department

At the Blue Coat School, the study of history is humane, humanising - and scholarly. We seek to promote an enjoyment of history, as the contemplation of the great procession of human civilization through the ages - a thing which naturally promotes both imagination and reflection. We seek to develop the analytical skills of our students, and nurture their ability to evaluate the significance of events, people, and historical sources themselves. Finally, we promote the great task of historiography, which is shape narratives from the passing of time, and to provide commentaries in the form of coherent and balanced opinions as to "what really happened." Form the outset, we model such procedures to our students: by the end of their time with us, our students are well on the way to being adepts themselves.

In our teaching methods, we favour presenting all our students, even the youngest, with original sources: a bad, sycophantic poem written in praise of the Fuehrer can make plain to young minds the follies of fascism in an immediate and vivid fashion which may not be managed by a whole chapter of text-book moralising. We do not doubt that essential facts are just that - essential: but we promote student involvement, and at all Key Stages make copious use of presentations, discussions, group and pair work. Students learn to take responsibility for their own learning, and become keen-minded and self-disciplined.

At Key Stage 3, some of the formative periods of Western Civilization are introduced to the pupils, who develop a sense of the forces and patterns of change in human affairs. Specifically, pupils study: the Roman Empire; Medieval Realms, 1066-1500; the Making of the United Kingdom, 1500-1750; the Industrial Age, 1750-1900; the Twentieth Century World, including the Great War, the Rise of Nazism, and the Holocaust. Students reflect upon cause and effect - the interaction or "hierarchy" of forces of change, and the role of famous individuals. They also have an important training in how to write essays in the appropriate style, how to treat historical sources, and how to research and "find out for themselves."

At Key Stage 4, the N.E.A.B. GCSE course is pursued, and students look closely at the Great War, the U.S.A. 1919-41, Germany 1918-39, the Second World War, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. Students learn how to build on skills first practised at Key Stage 3; now they must begin to be rigorous in their assembling and presentation of evidence and views, justifying their citing of sources, making connections in presenting an interpretation of events. At this Key Stage, history is a very popular choice among our students, and as they gather to help with wall displays and informally exchange views, there develops a culture of interest in the past - and a culture of examination success.

In the sixth form, both AS and A2 courses are offered, specifically: Early Modern, the Tudors, 1485-1603; the French Monarchy, Louis XIV to the French Revolution; Russia, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. Now mature and sophisticated skill of research and study, debate and discussion are called upon and carefully fostered: dealing with historical controversies and the diverse views of historians - such are the regular, stimulating challenges of advanced study. Our students gain a classic training (we may reasonably believe) in the priceless humane and intellectual skills of analysis, argumentation - and eloquently expressed scholarly scepticism! As a course of A-level study, history at the Blue Coat is very popular, and brings all sorts of rewards to our students - not least in terms of examination success, and entrance to Oxbridge, and other prestigious universities.

Religious Education Department

The Department is motivated by a dedication to raising awareness of the religious dimension of life. It seeks to guide the student body into a greater understanding of the religious beliefs and practices of our fellow beings. Further, it calls repeatedly upon our students, as they grow and mature, to explore their own responses to central moral issues, and to think through some of the "big questions" of existence.

To these ends, the Department uses a variety of techniques, employing modern and stimulating text-books, and making much use of videos on a wide variety of topics. Of course, the teacher is always ready to introduce, present, and summarise relevant themes, but the emphasis of many lessons is upon discussion, both in groups and as whole classes. This approach helps to develop creative thinking and questioning, and to enable the individual student to articulate and recognise, by degrees, his or her sense of the spiritual.

At Key Stage 3, classes explore aspects of various world religions, principally Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Pupils are helped to develop a capacity to think though such primal matters as the nature of beginnings and the existence of God. They are called upon to reflect upon and the challenge of lives motivated by faith - such as the life of Mother Teresa, or the life of Martin Luther King. They acquire some insight into the nature of religious belief and practice, and how religions can be, in the world we live in, forces for both good and bad. Pupils begin to understand the nature of their own world-views, and the bases upon which they stand; and so they gain an appreciation of the thought processes and beliefs of others, even though they might be quite different from their own.

At Key Stage 4, have a choice of courses. There is a Full Course on Christianity, which takes the form of two large areas of study: Belief and Practice; Effects of Belief on Behaviour. Alternatively, there is a Short Course, taken in a single school year, based upon the topics: Thinking about God; Thinking about Morality; God's Existence, and How God Can be Known: Suffering and Evil - How Can They Be Explained?; Issues of Human Relationships (marriage and divorce, abortion, prejudice and discrimination); Global Issues (war and peace, poverty). As will be readily appreciated by this brief outline, the courses are both rigorous and stimulating, and provide a training in careful thinking and all the skills of argument and debate - together with promoting the deepest moral and religious reflection upon the meaning and nature of our existence.

It is hoped that AS and A2 courses may be offered in the not too distant future. Students can use their studies of Religious Education at Key Stage 5 by choosing to answer appropriate questions in the A2 General Studies Module, Philosophy, Religion and Ethics.

Politics Department

The Government and Politics Department is going from strength to strength at Blue Coat School, with over fifty students now studying the subject as AS and A2 level. They do so because, like Economics, it is very much an 'up to the minute A level' with events occurring during the year that provide new examples of the theories being studied. It is a subject that has to be taught by teachers who are fundamentally interested in current affairs - and wish to enthuse others about the world in which they find themselves. Reality provides the course with examples top study that could simply never be made up.

Government and Politics is offered in the form of both AS and A2 courses in the Sixth Form: specifically, students follow the AQA Syllabus covering the major aspects of British and American politics. As students become more familiar with the subject and its modes of thought, group discussion and development of ideas come more to the fore. As students develop into independent-minded political beings, they are called upon to do their own research and make presentations, while being guided and supported throughout the course.

Using the latest textbooks, video segments and downloads from the internet as well as video streaming; the course is designed to be fresh, relevant and academic. Students will emerge from the course with a much-enhanced understanding of how human beings behave in institutions, pressure groups and political parties. What they discover is not always nice! As an academic A-Level, Government and Politics has equal status with any other, and may indeed offer special insights: "Man is by nature a political being," in the famous words of the Greek Philosopher, Aristotle. It is therefore a thoroughly "marketable" qualification - and one in practice much enjoyed by Blue Coat Students, who regularly achieve a high proportion of A and B Grades. In 2008 80% of the group attained an A grade.

Citzenship Department

The Citzenship section of the website is currently being updated. We apologise for any inconvenience.

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