History
‘To know where you are going, you must first know from whence you come!”
History is offered as an elective in the National Curriculum Statement. The new FET syllabus for History provides for a far more global outlook to the subject and historical patterns than was previously the case. There is still roughly a 50/50 split between World History and South African History.
History develops skills in the following main areas:
Research
Investigation
Identifying bias
Argument construction
Formal writing
Source analysis and interpretation
History skills are assessed in the FET stage in two ways essentially: Source-based questions and extended writing pieces. The latter teaches mini essay-writing skills as well as getting students to write historical pieces.
History is useful in many ways and in many careers including journalism, law and politics. The research and writing skills gained in History at school have greatly assisted students who have gone on to University, regardless of which degree they read.

Grade 10 History Learners with Mr Joseph, a visiting student teacher in the background.
Grade 10 History students enjoying their annual “Pre-Revolutionary” Feast. Learners are each assigned a character from the Ancien Regime (for example, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette -in hat- can be seen at the head of the table). They had to come dressed as their character, bring food and (non-alcolholic!) drink appropriate to their Estate and prepare a short drama with their partner about their life and attitude to the Revolution. They also had to come armed with an appropriate (and correctly pronounced!) French phrase. A fun event for all!