Helping Y12 tackle the NEA

Thanks to Sally Burnham for this blogpost. Sally is a history teacher at Carres Grammar School, history tutor at the University of Nottingham and incoming chair of the HA Secondary Committee. Here she shares her depth of experience of supporting A Level students to successfully complete the NEA. I love the History NEA! To me, the NEA is the part of the A Level course … Continue reading Helping Y12 tackle the NEA

How do you get A Level History students to read?

Thanks to Sally Burnham, History teacher and Lead Practitioner, Lincolnshire, and member of Secondary Committee for this blogpost drawn from her experience of a Covid change that has been worth keeping. How do you get A Level History students to read? This was an age old problem for me. I know how important it is for students to be reading historians’ work both to deepen … Continue reading How do you get A Level History students to read?

Active history to make history memorable and accessible

This blogpost accompanies the launch of a new webpage on the HA website. The ‘knowledge turn’ of recent years has been very welcome in many ways. There is inspiring work and success in evidence across the country in relation to developing coherent curricula. There are wonderful examples of historical enquiry and the use of historical narratives weaving disciplinary and substantive knowledge effectively. And yet, there … Continue reading Active history to make history memorable and accessible

Rethinking the historical significance of Napoleon – the case for an interdisciplinary approach

In this blogpost Gemma Hargraves, Deputy Headteacher at The Crypt School, Gloucester, shares some thoughts about how to use an interdisciplinary approach to engage students with historical significance and to encourage them to develop informed and robust opinions about the past. Napoleon’s life and legacy is taught at various curriculum stages. For example sometimes it is taught in a year 8 scheme of work on … Continue reading Rethinking the historical significance of Napoleon – the case for an interdisciplinary approach

How is your history club doing?

Thanks to Sally Burnham, HA and SHP Fellow and history teacher at Carres School in Lincolnshire for this blogpost. This post is packed full of great ideas for History Club activities across all year groups. In September we decided that we wanted to give History Club an ‘update’. During Covid it was many of the ‘nicer’ things of school life that had been put on … Continue reading How is your history club doing?

Corners of foreign fields: ideas for making meaning and memory on a Battlefields Trips

Thanks to Hugh Richards, Head of History at Huntington School in York and leader of the HA’s Subject Leader Development Programme, for this blogpost. Hugh is a leading thinker about how to make history memorable and meaningful for young people, and he has a lot of experience in organising Battlefields Trips. Hopefully you will be inspired to get (back) to the Battlefields. This blog explains … Continue reading Corners of foreign fields: ideas for making meaning and memory on a Battlefields Trips

Planning help from back issues of Teaching History

Thanks to Anne Hooper, member of HA Secondary Committee, for modelling how her department has trawled the back issues of Teaching History for curriculum planning support. The ‘vague recollection’ she talks abouts is not there in the minds of new members, but there are always people to ask. For example, a call out on Twitter for ‘anyone know a TH article that can help with…’ … Continue reading Planning help from back issues of Teaching History

Curricular implementation at Key Stage 4: Anatomy of a GCSE History Unit.

Thanks to Hugh Richards, Head of History at Huntington School and course leader of the HA’s Subject Leader Development Programme, for this blogpost. In it Hugh walks us through the process of planning a GCSE History Unit. From that he draws out GCSE planning principles. This blogpost is useful for anyone also planning GCSE units and to discuss in departmental CPD. I have recently planned … Continue reading Curricular implementation at Key Stage 4: Anatomy of a GCSE History Unit.

Some thoughts on responding to results: a guide for new (or nervous!) Subject Leaders of History

In this blogpost Hugh Richards shares his experience of results’ days. Hugh is Head of History at Huntington School in York and the leader of the team of SLs who work on the HA’s Subject Leader Development Programme. Firstly, I am no expert on data. I am an experienced head of department, but I am not claiming any particular authority, just sharing my approach in … Continue reading Some thoughts on responding to results: a guide for new (or nervous!) Subject Leaders of History

What’s the point of studying history? How can the past make any difference to the present?

This blogpost is for all those of us who find ourselves having conversations with sceptical parents and students. It especially addresses the need to persuade people that studying history can contribute to a career. Dr Katharine Burn, Honorary Secretary of the HA and history teacher educator at the University of Oxford, shares with us some quotations about the impact of historical research taken from the … Continue reading What’s the point of studying history? How can the past make any difference to the present?