The Humanities Department at Belmont covers Geography, History, Religious Studies, and Leisure and Tourism. They aim to fire students' curiosity about the past and world by developing their ability to analyze and evaluate information to understand the present and become successful global citizens. The department provides a stimulating curriculum across key stages with enrichment activities like trips and workshops to complement learning. They are proud that many students continue humanities studies after Belmont.

1. The Humanities Department The Humanities Department covers Geography, History, Religious Studies and Leisure and Tourism. We are proud of the positive contribution we make to the life at Belmont, which we continually strive to improve. Our team are very hard-working and passionate about the humanities subjects we teach. We want to fire students’ curiosity and imaginations about the past and the world around them so that they ultimately become successful participants in the dynamic world in which we live.

2. Our aims... We aim to provide students with the opportunity To develop the ability to analyse, assess and evaluate so that they can make sense of the present by looking at the past and make sense of the world they live in To ask questions whilst building on their own experiences To develop an understanding of identity and how it can be shaped by the past, faith, beliefs and values, culture, environment and choice To be able to critically evaluate the impact of religions and beliefs in the modern world whilst respecting the fact that other people may hold views different to their own To appreciate that with rights come responsibilities which influence their success in being caring and respectful global citizens

3. Our ethos... Before we can inspire students by providing a stimulating and engaging curriculum we believe that the learning climate within the school and the classroom needs to be one where students feel secure and safe and are able to participate in a respectful and caring environment. We have high expectations of our students both academically and socially. The Humanities Team Miss S Brooker (Curriculum Team Leader) Miss L Phillips Miss L Gibson Miss D Rowe Mr K Sexton Miss A Telfer Mr A Wood

4. Humanities Curriculum In Key Stage 3 (years 7, 8 and 9) we teach 4 hours of humanities consisting of: Geography, History and Religious Education. At Key Stage 4 (years 10 and 11) we teach Geography, History, Religious Studies and Leisure & Tourism at GCSE. We are constantly striving to keep our curriculum up-to-date and topical as well as engaging to students, therefore it is continually evolving. Students may be withdrawn from lessons in Religious Education in accordance with the 1944 Education Act if any parent/carer has conscientious objections. The Headteacher should be notified of any such request in writing, although it is preferred that parent/carer’s visit the school to discuss the matter first.

5. KS3 Curriculum

6. KS4 Curriculum

7. Homework Homework is set every week for lessons that have 2 hours worth of curriculum time per week or once every fortnight for subjects with 1 hour worth of curriculum time per week. Tasks are published half termly and can be found on the blog – they are also available to see on tutor group notice boards and on the Humanities notice board. The homework tasks set may take on different forms such as to carry out research, learning specific material, or consist of one or more reading or writing tasks. Homework will be designed to test or extend a student’s understanding of a particular topic and will offer opportunities for the student to work independently of the teacher, using knowledge already gained in class.

9. Secondly, we invite students and staff to attend options evening where we are happy to speak to students and parents about the options available to them.

11. Humanities Facilities We are based in block two and have four teaching classrooms and our own ICT suite. All classrooms are fitted with Interactive white boards which allow us to use ICT to facilitate both teaching and learning. We also have the use of two visualisers within the department which are a fantastic piece of equipment that aids assessment for learning. Belmont and Beyond.... We are proud that many of our students go on to study humanities subjects at sixth form and at University. We have had students return to school as Geographical Association Ambassadors to tell students of the possible opportunities that our subjects can lead to when studied at undergraduate and post-graduate level. Ultimately, whether students take an academic or vocational route we hope that we have inspired them all to become life-long learners.