Teacher of History and Politics

Due to the resignation of the previous Head of Department, Durham High School seeks an outstanding teacher of History and Politics. The post holder will be expected to teach Key Stage 3-5 including A Level History and Politics. We welcome applications from ECTs and experienced teachers looking for a new challenge.

History is one of the school’s most popular subjects and students approach lessons with enthusiasm. Many students bring an existing love of the past into their lessons, meaning that teachers can often capitalise upon a deep reservoir of existing knowledge.  

The school broadly follows the National Curriculum at KS3 so that students have a broad knowledge base before studying GCSE. Pupils start Year 7 with the Norman Conquest, investigate the ideal qualities of an ideal medieval monarch and progress through major moments in the Middle Ages such as the Black Death and Peasants’ Revolt. Year 8 includes in-depth studies of the development of democracy through the English Civil War and French Revolution. Pupils undertake an extensive local history study which considers the impact of the Industrial Revolution upon a range of locations across the North East of England. In Year 9, pupils study the campaign for women’s suffrage, World War I and II and other modern conflicts and campaigns.  

At KS4, pupils study Edexcel GCSE: Crime and Punishment in Britain, c1000-present, Early Elizabethan England, 1558-88, the American West c1835-95 and Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-39. Most pupils choose to study History at GCSE. 

At A-Level, we teach the Edexcel History specification, studying the following modules: In Search of the American Dream, the USA, c1917-96, South Africa, 1948–94: from apartheid state to ‘rainbow nation’ and Industrialisation and social change in Britain, 1759–1928: forging a new society.

The department also offers Edexcel A-Level Politics, including comparative studies of the political systems of the United Kingdom and United States. Students also consider political theory, studying the core political ideologies of conservatism, liberalism and socialism. In addition, the department currently opts to teach feminism. 

Many of our A-Level students continue to study History or Politics at university, and the department supports students with HAT and LNAT papers and debate and essay competitions such as the Historical Association’s Great Debate.