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The Great Schism

Background to the Great Schism: the Roman Catholic Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church

In this unit, pupils studied differences between branches of Christianity in Europe. In '11th-century Islamic worlds', pupils explore themes of similarity and difference further as they make comparisons between medieval Islamic societies.

In ‘Britain after the Romans: how did Christianity survive in the British Isles?' students analysed key developments in Christianity in the British Isles. In this unit, pupils analyse changes in Christianity duirng the Medieval period which occurred on a continental scale at the time of the Great Schism.

In this unit, pupils learn about the Great Schism. They study the similarities and differences between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches and consider the degree to which the Great Schism fundamentally changed the relationship between these two centres of Christendom.

The Christian Church: how completely did the Great Schism transform Christendom?

Baghdad in the 11th century

Cordoba in the 11th century

Sicily and other Islamic worlds in the 11th century

In this unit, pupils analysed the breadth of Islamic societies and some of their connections to Christian societies. In 'The Crusades: did Europeans go on crusade to capture the 'holy land'?' pupils will explore how factors such as power, trade and religious differences between Muslims and Christians helped to motivate the Crusades.

In 'Early Islamic civilisation: what connected Baghdad to the wider world?', pupils studied 9th century Baghdad and other Muslim societies like Cordoba. In this unit, pupils will compare these societies to other Islamic worlds like Sicily and analyse some of the difficulties faced by these Islamic societies by the 11th century.

In this unit, pupils develop their knowledge and understanding of the Islamic world in the 11th century. Pupils study three connected, but contrasting, centres of Islamic civilisation: Baghdad, Cordoba and Sicily.

11th-century Islamic worlds: how similar were the regions of the Islamic world?

1066 and claims to the throne

The Battle of Hastings (1066)

Norman reforms to the English Church

Norman changes to the English landscape

Norman changes to English land holding

The impact of the Norman Conquest on England

In this unit, pupils learnt about how historians use sources to support their differing accounts of the impact of the Norman Conquest.  In 'Norman England: in what ways did life change for ordinary people' pupils deepen their understanding of how Norman changes to government influenced ordinary people.

In 'The Anglo-Saxons: how do we know about life in Anglo-Saxon England?', pupils learnt about Anglo-Saxon culture and society, and the evidence base for the claims historians make. In this unit pupils learn more about how historians use sources to support their differing accounts of the impact of the Norman Conquest.

In this unit, pupils learn about the causes and conduct of the Norman Conquest of England. They develop their understanding of the sorts of evidence historians use to make claims, and how they do this, building an understanding of how we know about these events.

The Norman Conquest: how do we know about the impact of the Conquest on England?

Background to the Crusades: the Byzantine Empire

Background to the Crusades: the Seljuk Empire

Background to the Crusades: the medieval Western Church

Pope Urban II's call to crusade

The First Crusade

The causes of the First Crusade

This unit allowed pupils to evaluate the various causes which can lead to international conflict. In 'The Wars of the Roses: what does it tell us about fifteenth-century England?', pupils will consider similar factors and motives for individuals but within the context of groups from the same country who go to war against one another.

In 'The Christian Church: how completely did the Great Schism transform Christendom?', pupils studied some of the structures and features of European Christianity in the 11th century. In this unit, pupils will deepen their understanding of Christian Europe by assessing the power of the Church in people's lives and other factors which affected individuals' and groups' decision-making.

In this unit, pupils develop a deep understanding of the First Crusade's background. They learn how the interplay of events across Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the Seljuk Empire led to this significant campaign.

The Crusades: did Europeans go on crusade to capture the 'holy land'?

Matilda's early life: Empress of Germany

Matilda and the succession crisis

Matilda's claim and campaign

Matilda's battles

Matilda's later life: supporting Henry II

The life of Matilda and medieval women

In this unit, pupils analysed how gender affected attitudes towards leaders and claimants for the throne in medieval England. In 'Elizabeth I: why has Elizabeth been represented so differently?' students will consider the different ways in which a 16th century female monarch was represented, including how gender continued to affect perceptions of women in power.

In 'The Norman Conquest: how do we know about the impact of the Conquest on England?', pupils studied the significance of a succession crisis. In this unit, pupils will deepen their understanding of contested successions by considering how gender affected attitudes towards leaders and claimants for the throne in medieval England.

In this unit, pupils analyse the historical significance of Empress Matilda's life. They use her life as a lens to consider the lives of noble women in medieval England.

Medieval women: what can we learn from Matilda about women in medieval England?

Henry II and the Angevin Empire

Henry II's legal reforms

Henry II's church reforms

The murder of Thomas Becket

Eleanor of Aquitaine and the end of Henry II's reign

How successful was Henry II as king?

In this unit, pupils have studied a successful period of royal consolidation. In 'The Wars of the Roses: what does it tell us about fifteenth-century England?', pupils will consider how periods of royal consolidation were not always durable in medieval England and explain how royal power proved volatile in the 15th century, experiencing both stability and instability.

In 'The Norman Conquest: how do we know about the impact of the Conquest on England?', pupils explained some of the ways William I consolidated his power in England. In this unit, pupils will think about some similar methods employed by Henry II and use this to evaluate the extent of royal consolidation.

In this unit, pupils learn about England and the Angevin Empire under Henry II's rule. They then use their knowledge of Henry's rule to evaluate the degree to which he was a successful king.

England under Henry II: how successfully did Henry reassert royal authority?

King John and the causes of Magna Carta

1215 and Magna Carta

The First Barons' War and Magna Carta reissued

Henry III and the 1225 Magna Carta

Simon de Montfort and the First Parliament

The survival of Magna Carta

In this unit, pupils saw that ideas about restricting the power of monarchs had emerged in the medieval period. In 'The English Civil War: what can pamphlets tell us about 17th century politics?', pupils will deepen their understanding of English arguments for restricting royal power by analysing a range of primary sources produced by Parliamentarians in the mid-17th century.

In 'England under Henry II: how successfully did Henry reassert royal authority?', pupils studied methods used by medieval monarchs to consolidate royal power in England. In this unit, pupils will study some of the opposition which formed in response to abuses of royal power in the medieval period.

In this unit, pupils learn about the causes of the Magna Carta, its reissue and its continued importance in the development of the first parliaments. At the same time, pupils analyse how and why the principles of the Magna Carta survived.

Magna Carta: how did Magna Carta survive?

Edward I: warrior and just ruler

Edward I’s first campaign in Wales

Welsh revolt and Edward I’s conquest of Wales

Edward I and Scotland

Scottish resistance to Edward I’s rule

Edward I's failure to unite all of Britain

In this unit, pupils saw how the British Isles were not permanently united under a single ruler during the medieval period. In the 'The English Civil War: what can pamphlets tell us about 17th century politics?', understanding that the British Isles was made up of different constituent parts will be important for appreciating foreign involvement in the English Civil War.

In 'The Vikings: how did Viking settlement change Britain?' pupils saw how there was resistance to English power from other parts of the British Isles. In this unit, pupils will deepen their understanding of resistance to English power which prevented the British Isles from becoming united in the medieval period.

In this unit, pupils learn about Edward I's campaign to conquer Wales and Scotland and bring both under English rule. They will analyse the reasons why Edward was unable to achieve his aim.

Edward I: What stopped Edward uniting all of Britain?

Trade in medieval Norwich

Local elites in medieval Norwich

Churchmen in medieval Norwich

Women in medieval Norwich

Treatment of the poor in medieval Norwich

Life in medieval Norwich

In this unit, pupils were able to identify some of the inequalities which existed in medieval society, especially between the rich and the poor. In 'The Peasants' Revolt: why do historians disagree about its causes?' pupils will explore social inequalities in more depth and explain how these long term issues combined with specific triggers to cause the Peasants' Revolt.

In 'Medieval women: what can we learn from Matilda about women in medieval England?', pupils used a case study to make broader inferences about life in medieval England. In this unit, pupils will use a location-based, rather than an individual-based, case study to make inferences and comparisons regarding what life was like for a range of different social groups in medieval England.

In this unit, pupils learn about the similarities and differences between various medieval lives in Norwich. In doing so, they build deep knowledge of one particular historical place and what it tells us about medieval England more generally.

Local history: how similar were medieval lives in Norwich?

Trade routes throughout West Africa

New civilisations in the Sahel

Gold and the West African economy

Islam in medieval West Africa

Mansa Musa's pilgrimage

The successful expansion of medieval Mali

In this unit, pupils studied the economy and religion of 14th century West Africa. In 'Transatlantic Slavery: how were West African societies impacted?', pupils will explain how the Transatlantic Slave Trade had a profoundly disruptive effect on West African societies.

In '11th century Islamic worlds: how similar were the regions of the Islamic world?', pupils saw that Islamic states were established across parts of Asia, Europe and Africa. In this unit, pupils will understand that Islam spread to parts of West Africa and that successful Islamic states, such as the Mali Empire, were established there.

In this unit, pupils learn about the success of medieval Mali, with a focus on the second-order concept of causation. They build knowledge of the West African landscape and the role it played in Mali's rise. They will also learn about the rise of Islam in the region and Mansa Musa's pilgrimage.

Medieval West Africa: why was medieval Mali so successful?

The Silk Road

The arrival of the Black Death

The impact of the Black Death in Europe

In this unit, pupils considered the significant impact the Black Death had on life in Europe. In 'The Peasants' Revolt: why do historians disagree about its causes?', pupils will interrogate the impacts of the Black Death further, considering how these consequences helped contribute to the outbreak of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381.

In 'Early Islamic civilisation: what connected Baghdad to the wider world?', pupils studied how connections like the Silk Road connected East and West for trade and the spread of ideas. In this unit, pupils will also see how communication networks like the Silk Road also contributed to the spread of diseases, and in particular, the bubonic plague.

In this unit, pupils analyse the connections that existed in the medieval world by looking at the transmission and impact of the Black Death. They learn about its spread across the Silk Roads and in doing so develop their understanding of how trade and communication connected the medieval world.

The Black Death and the Silk Road: how connected was the medieval world?

The impact of the Black Death on England

The Statute of Labourers and the response to the Black Death

The decline of the feudal system

Richard II and the war in France

The Peasants' Revolt

The causes of the Peasants' Revolt

In this unit, pupils considered how a range of political, economic and social factors made the lives of peasants difficult in medieval England. In 'Life in Tudor England: was there a 'Golden Age' for the poor?', pupils will extend their knowledge of the lives of those who made up the majority of England's population by assessing the quality of life of the poor by the late-16th century.

In 'The Black Death and the Silk Road: how connected was the medieval world?', pupils studied some of the key consequences of the Black Death. In this unit, pupils will explain how those consequences contributed to the social and economic tensions which triggered the Peasants' Revolt in England.

In this unit, pupils learn about the differing interpretations that exist regarding the causes of the Peasants' Revolt. They will examine the impact of the Black Death on England alongside the short-term causes of the uprising.

The Peasants' Revolt: why do historians disagree about its causes?

Henry VI and Richard of York

The rule of Margaret of Anjou and the rise of Edward, Duke of York

Edward IV's unstable first reign

Edward IV's stable second reign

Edward V and Richard III

What the Wars of the Roses tell us about England in the fifteenth century

In this unit, students analysed dynastic instability and its significant impact upon England. In 'Henry VIII and the Reformation: how unusual was the English Reformation?', students will deepen their understanding of the impact of dynastic politics as they assess Henry VIII's Great Matter and its relation to the English Reformation.

In 'Medieval women: what can we learn from Matilda about women in medieval England?', pupils studied how England was affected by dynastic struggles and conflicts. In this unit, pupils will focus on analysing how dynastic struggles re-emerged and led to an even more prolonged civil war in England in the 15th century.

In this unit, pupils develop an understanding of the events of the period known as the Wars of the Roses. In doing so, they analyse the reasons for instability during this period, reflecting on what the Wars of the Roses can tell us about fifteenth-century England.

The Wars of the Roses: what does it tell us about fifteenth-century England?

The background to the Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance: humanism

The Italian Renaissance: art and architecture

The Italian Renaissance: science and anatomy

The Northern Renaissance

Understanding the artefacts of the Renaissance

In this unit, pupils studied the emergence and impact of new ideas which occurred during the Renaissance. In 'Henry VIII and the Reformation: how unusual was the English Reformation?', pupils will continue to interrogate the significance of new ideas but in the context of religious diversification in Europe.

In 'The Christian Church: how completely did the Great Schism transform Christendom?', pupils saw how dominant Christianity was in medieval culture. In this unit, pupils will be able to understand how the Renaissance led to some challenges against the teachings of the Church but did not completely overcome the Church's dominant influence.

In this unit, pupils learn about the Renaissance by examining its material culture. They study various artefacts of the Renaissance and compare the Northern and Italian Renaissances. Throughout, pupils reflect on what evidence about the Renaissance can be taken from these sources.

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