History at White Rock

Intent for History

The study of history ignites children’s curiosity about the past in Britain and the wider world. At White Rock Primary School, our aim is to teach transferable skills throughout our History curriculum such as reasoning, problem solving and the ability to conduct research, to ensure we create inquisitive, successful learners for life. History enables children to develop a context for their growing sense of identity and a chronological framework for their knowledge of significant events and people, which we start teaching our youngest children to learn about who they are. What pupils learn through history can influence their decisions about attitudes and values. When teaching history we follow the National Curriculum using knowledge and skills to avoid a mere memorisation of facts. Through finding out about how and why the world and our culture has developed over time, children understand how the past influences the present. Our strong community links allow our children to develop their understanding of local history and make predictions for the future.

Implementation of History

At White Rock Primary School, History is a crucial part of school life and learning and it is for this reason that as a school we are dedicated to the teaching and delivery of a high-quality History curriculum.

This is implemented through:

• A robust, whole school, yearly overview of the History curriculum which allows for progression across year groups in all areas of History.  Our curriculum is cyclical as key strands are revisited regularly throughout the curriculum, reinforcing and building on the complexity of each skill.

By the time the children at White Rock leave our school they will have developed:

 A secure knowledge and understanding of people, events and contexts from the historical periods covered.

 The ability to think critically about history and communicate confidently in styles appropriate to a range of audiences.

 The ability to consistently support, evaluate and challenge their own and others’ views using detailed, appropriate, and accurate historical evidence derived from a range of sources.

 The ability to think, reflect, debate, discuss and evaluate the past, forming and refining questions and lines of enquiry

History at White Rock

Monday 23rd May 2022- History Visitor

At White Rock Primary School, we were very lucky to have the chairman of the Torbay Civic Society, come in and talk to each year group about their significant historical figure.

Year 1 learnt all about Herbert Whitley- who established Paignton Zoo zoological garden on his estate at Primley, Paignton, in Devon in the 1920s. We were very curious and interested to find out all about the animals at the zoo in preparation for our school trip!

Year 2 learnt about Isambard Kingdom Brunel. We learnt about the blue plaques that can be found all around Torbay to mark Brunel's work. The children learnt that Brunel did much more than railways, including building houses around Torbay. We also learnt he used to wear a bigger top hat to make himself look taller!

Year 3 learnt about the 'Father of Paignton'- George Soudon Bridgman. We learnt that he lived in Torbay and was a qualified architect. Bridgman's first project was Paignton Pier. He also built the sea wall. The biggest building he designed and built was Oldway Mansion. Of course, he built this for Singer!

Year 4 learnt about Isaac Merritt Singer. We learnt that he was born in America in 1811 and died in Paignton 1875. Singer is famous for inventing and developing a special part on the sewing machine called the 'shuttle'. Singer purchased Fernham Estate, now known as Oldway Mansion, and with the help of George Bridgman, designed Oldway Mansion as a home for his family.

Year 5 were lucky enough to learn all about Wilfred Owen, a WW1 soldier and war poet. Owen received a Military Cross on Armistice Day. Owen, who wrote some of the best British poetry on World War I, composed nearly all of his poems in just over a year, from August 1917 to September 1918. 

Year 6 learnt all about the key historical local figure of Agatha Christie. We learned lots about her life and the key physical sites around Torbay and South Devon!