Head of Department
Mrs V Gaskin

KS4 Specification - AQA

The History department at West Kirby Grammar School consists of five teachers, who are all subject specialists. The department has four classrooms, all with iTV technology. At Key Stage 3, students study History for two lessons a week covering everything from the Battle of Hastings to the Cold War. The idea is to give them a breadth of chronological understanding in the events that have shaped British History so that, even if they never study History again, they are left with a broad overview of the subject. Here they focus on developing their source evaluation skills and extended writing to meet the needs of the Key Stage 4 course. Trips at Key Stage 3 include Speke Hall and the International Slavery Museum.

We offer an interesting and engaging GCSE course covering topics including Democracy and Dictatorship in Germany 1890-1945, Conflict and Tension 1894-1918, Power and the People c1170 - the Present Day and Elizabethan England c1568-1603. Students are offered a range of opportunities to bring their learning to life including visiting the Battlefields of WW1 in France and Belgium, studying the history of protest at the Peoples' Museum in Manchester and exploring the development of a nation state in our popular Berlin residential.

Many students continue to study History at A-level where students study Tsarist and Communist Russia 1855-1964 and the Making of Modern Britain 1951-2007. They also complete coursework on Nationalism in Ireland 1789 - 1922, which includes a tour of Dublin and Belfast.

Key Stage 3 Curriculum Maps

Key Stage 4 Curriculum Maps

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Art
Biology
Business & Economics
Chemistry
Computing
Drama
English
Food & Nutrition
French
Geography
German
History
Latin
Mathematics
Music
Physical Education
Physics
Religious Studies
Spanish
Technology

examination results

60%

of GCSE students achieved grades 9-7

79%

of GCSE students achieved grades 9-6

95%

of GCSE students achieved grades 9-4

What we've been up to...

14Mar '24

Sixth Form & Year 11 Careers Fair

We are pleased to announce the dates for our annual Careers Fair which will take place on Wednesday 24th April and Wednesday 1st May 2024. These proved very popular last year and have now been expanded to include Year 11 as well as Sixth Form students. We are looking for representatives from a range of career areas and higher/further education institutes who would be willing to speak to our students about their area of expertise. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to represent your company/organisation at the event, please contact Mrs Harris-Smith by email at sharris@wkgs.net

12Mar '24

UK Space Design Competition

A team of 11 students from West Kirby Grammar School were in the winning team at the National Final of the UK Space Design Competition which took place at Imperial College, London on the weekend of 2nd - 3rd March.

12Mar '24

Congratulations to our Year 8 Netball team!

Congratulations to the Y8 Netball team who were winners of the Wirral Schools League. They beat Wirral in their semi-final and Birkenhead School in a brilliant final! Well done to everyone who has played this season.

11Mar '24

WKGS Music Department news

Students Han, Laoise, Esme, Phoebe and Imogen, all members of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, performed yesterday at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

01Mar '24

Congratulations Year 7 2024-25

Congratulations Year 7 2024-25! We look forward to welcoming our new Year 7 students to our school.

27Feb '24

Limited places available for Sixth Form

Limited places available for Sixth Form

13Feb '24

Year 4 & 5 Information Evening

We would like to invite prospective students along with their parents/carers to join us for our Year 4 & 5 Information Evening on Tuesday 23rd April. Book your place now by visiting the link : Year 4 & 5 Information Evening - Tuesday 23 April 2024

13Feb '24

Wirral Schools Netball League

Well done to the netballers from Y7, Y8 and Y9 who played in the Wirral Schools Netball League tonight. Two wins and a draw for our teams. Super proud of you all!

12Feb '24

Open Morning Tours 2024

We would like to invite parents/carers of prospective students (lower school and sixth form) to join us for an Open Morning Tour of WKGS. We have limited places available for the 13th March tour and are now taking bookings for the April and May dates. https://wkgs.org/open-morning-tours-2024

08Feb '24

Chinese New Year

Students have enthusiastically embraced the celebration of Chinese New Year, particularly as it marks the Year of the Dragon. The festivities were made even more memorable thanks to Mr Vane's outstanding annual assembly which featured delightful touches like fortune cookies, Chinese lanterns and vibrant wall displays. Students were also able to enjoy a selection of delicious Chinese food in the canteen.

31Jan '24

Taster day at University of Liverpool

Taster day at University of Liverpool Our Year 9 students enjoyed a Computer Science Taster Day within the Department of Computer Science at the University of Liverpool. They were treated to a series of workshops and enjoyed practical activities based on parallel sorting algorithms, application of Wavefunction collapse in generating images, encryption and coding/robotics. A thoroughly enjoyable day was had by all.

24Jan '24

Congratulations

It's an exciting time of year for our all our year 13 students as they start to receive university, apprenticeship and employment offers. Well done to all students who have received offers so far and special congratulations to this year's four Oxbridge offer holders.

22Jan '24

@WkgsFutures

We'd like to invite our school community to follow our brand new @WkgsFutures account on Instagram and X (Twitter). We will be regularly sharing details of extracurricular activities, work experience placements and apprenticeship opportunities.

04Dec '23

Sunday Times Parent Power

We are delighted to announce that we are rated as the top state secondary school in the Sunday Times Parent Power Guide 2024 for Wirral and Chester & Cheshire West. We'd like to thank our fantastic school community of students, staff and parents/carers for making this possible.

07Jun '23

Northwest ESAA Track and Field

This week saw some of our Year 9 and 10 athletics’ stars head to the Northwest ESAA Track and Field Championships in Manchester. An extremely successful outing means they are now off to the National Finals in Essex. Well done girls we are very proud of you all.