Full pathway
KS3 History, stage by stage
Nine stages from 1066 to the present, finishing with the source, interpretation and thematic questions GCSE history is built on.
History
Your progress
0 of 48 lessons finished · 0 of 22 objectives secure
Stage 9 teaches GCSE question types at KS3 level. It prepares you for those papers rather than replacing a full GCSE history course.
Stage 1
The Norman Conquest, 1066–1087
1066 and the Norman settlement: conquest, control and the feudal system.
- Lesson 1: A kingdom without an heirUnderstand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 2: The battles of 1066Understand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal governmentFilm3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 3: Conquest by castleUnderstand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 4: Resistance and the HarryingUnderstand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 5: Land, lordship and governmentUnderstand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal governmentFilm3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 6: Church and cultureUnderstand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 7: Domesday verdictUnderstand the impact through time of the Norman Conquest on society and the establishment of feudal government3 marked checks38 min
Stage 2
Church, state and society: 1066 to 1745
Church, state and society across the medieval and early modern centuries.
- Church, state and society in medieval Britain, 1066-1509Understand the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-15094 marked checks30 min
- The English Reformation and its impactUnderstand the development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the English Reformation and its impact4 marked checks30 min
- Monarchy and the English Civil WarsUnderstand the changing role of the monarchy and the causes and consequences of the English Civil Wars4 marked checks30 min
- Theory and practice of monarchy, 1509-1745Understand the development of the Church, state and society in Britain 1509-1745, including the theory and practice of monarchy and the origins and progress of the English Reformation4 marked checks30 min
- The emergence and growth of ParliamentUnderstand how the emergence and growth of Parliament shaped political power in Britain4 marked checks30 min
Stage 3
The English Reformation, 1509–1603
The English Reformation, 1509–1603, and the argument over religion and power.
- Lesson 1: England on the eve of ReformationUnderstand religion, monarchy and society in England in 1509Film3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 2: The King's Great MatterExplain why Henry VIII challenged papal authority3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 3: Breaking with RomeUnderstand the legal establishment of royal supremacyFilm3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 4: Dissolving the monasteriesAssess the motives and consequences of the dissolution3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 5: Reformation from above and belowExplain how official religious change affected ordinary communities3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 6: Edward, Mary and ElizabethCompare the pace and direction of religious change after Henry VIII3 marked checks38 min
- Lesson 7: Reformation balance sheetReach a supported judgement about causes and consequences of the English Reformation3 marked checks38 min
Stage 4
Industrial Britain, 1745–1901
Industrial Britain, 1745–1901: steam, cities, work and public health.
- Chapter 1: Britain before the factoriesExplain what changed and what continued as Britain industrialisedFilm3 marked checks30 min
- Chapter 2: Why did industrialisation begin in Britain?Explain how connected causes helped Britain industrialise3 marked checks32 min
- Chapter 3: Steam, cotton and the factory systemExplain how machinery changed production and working timeFilm3 marked checks32 min
- Chapter 4: The new industrial cityExplain why towns grew and how urban life differed by classFilm3 marked checks32 min
- Chapter 5: Workers, children and factory evidenceUse historical evidence rigorously to investigate factory work3 marked checks35 min
- Chapter 6: Disease, evidence and public healthExplain how evidence, politics and engineering produced public-health reformFilm3 marked checks35 min
- Chapter 7: Reform and the industrial balance sheetReach a supported judgement about the impact of industrialisation3 marked checks38 min
Stage 5
Empire, trade and abolition
Empire, the transatlantic slave trade, resistance and abolition.
- Britain, trade and transatlantic slaveryDescribe Britain's role in transatlantic slaveryFilm3 marked checks30 min
- Why did abolition happen?Explain the causes of abolition3 marked checks30 min
- Abolition: who ended the slave trade?Understand Britain's transatlantic slave trade, its effects and its eventual abolitionFilm3 marked checks30 min
- Why historians disagree about empireDiscern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructed3 marked checks28 min
Stage 6
Britain, Europe and the wider world, 1901–present
Britain, Europe and the wider world, 1901 to the present, including the Holocaust.
- Lesson 1: Europe goes to warUnderstand challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day, including the First and Second World Wars and the HolocaustFilm3 marked checks40 min
- Lesson 2: War, society and memoryUnderstand challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day, including the First and Second World Wars and the Holocaust3 marked checks40 min
- Lesson 3: Democracy under pressureUnderstand challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day, including the First and Second World Wars and the Holocaust3 marked checks40 min
- Lesson 4: The Holocaust: persecution to genocideUnderstand challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day, including the First and Second World Wars and the Holocaust3 marked checks40 min
- Lesson 5: Britain and the Second World WarUnderstand challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day, including the First and Second World Wars and the HolocaustFilm3 marked checks40 min
- Lesson 6: 1945 and a changing BritainUnderstand social, cultural and technological change in post-war British society3 marked checks40 min
- Lesson 7: Britain and the world after empireUnderstand the changing nature of the United Kingdom's relationships with the rest of Europe and the wider world in the twentieth century3 marked checks40 min
Stage 7
Britain in a wider world
A non-European society and Britain's place in a connected world.
- Tracing a theme through British historyUnderstand a study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils' chronological knowledge beyond 10663 marked checks24 min
- A significant world society: ancient BeninUnderstand a significant society or issue in world history and its interconnections with other world developments3 marked checks26 min
- A world issue: the transatlantic slave tradeUnderstand at least one study of a significant society or issue in world history and its interconnections with other world developments3 marked checks28 min
- A non-European contrast: Mughal IndiaUnderstand a study of a non-European society that provides historical contrasts with British history3 marked checks26 min
Stage 8
Thinking like a historian
Second-order concepts: cause, consequence, significance, change and continuity.
- Change, cause and significance: thinking historicallyUnderstand historical concepts such as continuity and change, cause and consequence, similarity, difference and significance4 marked checks30 min
- Enquiry, evidence and interpretationsUnderstand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claims4 marked checks30 min
- How our knowledge of the past is constructedUnderstand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources, and how and why historians have interpreted the past in different ways4 marked checks30 min
- The Holocaust, ideology and interpretationUnderstand the challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world, including the Holocaust and the role of ideology, and how these are represented and interpreted4 marked checks30 min
Stage 9
GCSE-style history: sources, interpretations and change over time
GCSE-style questions: source utility, contrasting interpretations and thematic study.
- How useful is this source? Answering it properlyUnderstand the methods of historical enquiry, including how evidence is used rigorously to make historical claimsFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Why historians disagree: analysing interpretationsDiscern how and why contrasting arguments and interpretations of the past have been constructedFilm4 marked checks30 min
- Thematic study: change and continuity across centuriesUnderstand a study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils' chronological knowledge beyond 1066Film4 marked checks30 min
Where this leads
Into GCSE history
Every lesson reports into the same history objective grid, and the GCSE pages carry specification points and exam-style practice.

