At Key Stage 2 level (ages 7-11) teachers must cover three British History studies

History is a foundation subject of the National Curriculum and is statutory at Key Stages 1 to 3 (up to age 14).

At Key Stage 2 level (ages 7-11) teachers must cover three British History studies. These include: the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings; Tudor Britain and the wider world; and either Victorian Britain or Britain since the 1930s.

Following a comprehensive review of the secondary curriculum, the slave trade and the British Empire have joined the Holocaust and two world wars as compulsory elements of the History curriculum at KS 3 (ages 11 to 14). We have however moved away from a prescriptive curriculum and no longer explicitly state exactly what must be taught in any subject. We give teachers this flexibility as they will know the best ways to address the needs of their pupils. The new KS3 curriculum for history, outlined below, is effective from September 2008.

At KS 3 level, pupils must learn the major events, changes and developments in British, European and world history covering at least the medieval, early modern, industrial and twentieth-century periods. Appropriate links should be made to some of the parallel events, changes and developments in British, European and world history. Within this broad framework content should include:

The development of political power from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century;
The different histories and changing relationships through time of the peoples of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales;
The impact through time of the movement and settlement of diverse peoples to, from and within the British Isles;
The way in which the lives, beliefs, ideas and attitudes of people in Britain have changed over time and the factors that have driven these changes;
The development of trade, colonisation, industrialisation and technology, the British Empire and its impact on different people in Britain and overseas, pre-colonial civilisations, the nature and effects of the slave trade, and resistance and decolonisation.

European and world history:

the impact of significant political, social, cultural, religious, technological and/or economic developments and events on past European and world societies;
the changing nature of conflict and co-operation between countries and peoples and its lasting impact on national, ethnic, racial, cultural or religious issues, including the nature and impact of the two world wars and the Holocaust, and the role of European and international institutions in resolving conflicts.

Further information on the programme of study for history can be found on the QCA's website via the following link: http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/