Historians have reconstructed what Windsor Castle originally looked like when it was built by William the Conqueror in 1071 to deter Anglo-Saxon rebels. Researchers have used a series of archaeological discoveries made over recent decades to determine the original size and construction of Britain’s largest medieval fortress. The reconstruction of that first Windsor...

Many years ago a teacher recounted to me a lesson they had taught ostensibly about the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381.* The ‘extension’ task was to make a drawing that would reflect what had been learnt. One child had a less than tenuous grasp of what had been taught and not...

Historians have put forward a new theory to solve a mystery that has long baffled experts – why Stonehenge’s Neolithic builders went to the great effort of bringing some of its huge stones from 155 miles away in south-west Wales. "In contemporary Western culture, we are always striving to make...

The Syriac Galen Palimpsest is a fascinating and (until now) frustrating historical manuscript. For several years it has been known to contain traces of a 6th-century translation of a treatise ‘On simple drugs’ by the renowned early physician Galen. However, this original text had been erased and overwritten with psalms in the 11th century, and despite...

Access Teaching History 170 (Free to HA Secondary Members) Editorial: Historians When we do history we are not alone. Even sitting in the most obscure corner of the top floor of the library, surrounded only by books, we are in the presence of other historians. We locate our arguments among theirs,...

As you may well be aware, Ofsted has been carrying out research into the breadth and coherence of the curriculum offered to all young people. In deciding to conduct this investigation, the Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman acknowledged that Ofsted ought to consider its own role in what has been happening...

March is Women’s History Month each year. We have produced resources to support primary school assemblies exploring the history of female suffrage in the UK. If you would like some ideas for a special assembly during Women’s history month, download our assembly ideas and powerpoint presentation to support your school assembly....

When Professor Asa Briggs died in 2016, the Historical Association lost a very dear and loyal friend. As a result the decision was made to publish a special edition of The Historian to celebrate the life of Lord Briggs. The intention was to focus on his work and achievements as an...

Regular readers of The Historian will have noticed that our Editorial Board have been, over many years, identifying significant historical anniversaries which we feel are important to recognise. In this edition you will find three articles which deliberately identify the fiftieth anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act (1967) as a...

Somewhere on a battlefield in Belgium in February a rebel group comb the countryside, gather intelligence (knowledge), share expertise and plot their future actions. Who are they? What are they really doing? WHAT ARE THEIR INTENTIONS?! Actually it turns out they are with the Historical Association, and they are a...

The Department for Education has recently published its Commonwealth 2018 Classroom Education pack. The free resource has been designed in collaboration with the British Council and Commonwealth Secretariat, the pack contains four classroom-based activities themed around the Commonwealth and has been designed to help pupils deepen their understanding of the...

In recognition of the excellence and high standards that the HA Quality Mark (QM) can bring to a school we are delighted to announce that to help celebrate their 150th anniversary, the Royal Historical Society is to provide sponsored bursaries to ensure more schools can take part. The QM supports...

In our 2017 membership surveys we invited you to tell us more about your membership experience, what you value, and what we can do to improve. We would like to say a huge thank you to our 490 members who took the time to respond to the survey and share...

Access Teaching History 169 here (Free to HA Secondary members) Editorial: A Time and a Place The relationship between history and geography in schools is often rather ambivalent. Recent curriculum changes in England have prompted the reconstruction of strong subject boundaries, although many history teachers continue to work alongside their geography...

History is popular in Primary schools – but it is under-resourced and many teachers do not feel that they are provided with the CPD that they would like to really get to grips with the subject. The majority of primary school teachers do not have a history degree or any...

Secondary: GCSE history changes affecting KS3 students Recent findings from the Historical Association’s Annual Survey into History Teaching in English Secondary Schools, suggests that – despite the best intentions – changes to GCSE history are seriously affecting the amount of time given to history lessons at Key Stage 3.  The...

These resources were developed as part of the Historical Association’s inaugural Teacher Fellowship Programme funded by Agincourt 600. The programme was led by Ian Dawson and focused on developing teachers’ knowledge of late medieval history and translating this to the classroom. Featuring academic input from Professor Anne Curry, Professor Michael...

Britain had formally governed the Indian subcontinent from 1858, although its influence there had been growing for the previous two centuries. India was considered the jewel in the crown of the British Empire. Political, ethnic and regional movements in India were opposed to being part of a foreign Empire, and...

Tony Badger is Professor in American History at Northumbria University with a distinguished career and reputation amongst his peers. He has been in senior roles at the University of Cambridge and published widely. “I am delighted to be able to work with Tony over the next few years. He is...

The twenty-first Annual Dinner of the Isle of Wight branch was held at the Brading Roman Villa. Fifty members and invited guests assembled before the Dinner in the Villa itself to witness the Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, Major General Martin White CB CBE JP, representing Her Majesty...