For the past ten years, the Historical Association (HA) has worked with the University of Oxford and Reading University to carry out in-depth research on the state of history teaching in schools. These reports have informed decision-makers at the highest level, notably government, Ofsted and examination boards. The reports also...

It seems we can’t escape the word ‘curriculum’ these days. The start of the year has brought us Ofsted’s new draft inspection framework, currently out for consultation. There is a new focus on the substance of education: what gets taught and how it gets taught. At first glance, there is...

This month Ofsted have issued a consultation on their new inspection framework entitled Education inspection framework 2019: inspecting the substance of education.  Over the past few years, the Historical Association’s surveys into history in English secondary schools have been showing how some schools have reduced opportunity and entitlement to study...

It sometimes seems to those of us living in Scotland, Ireland and Wales that our histories have no importance to anyone beyond our borders and when Americans, and others around the world, say ‘England’ when they actually mean the ‘United Kingdom’, it is hard not to bristle. Contributors to this...

Over the years the HA has done a lot to explore and raise awareness about LGBT history.  So for this year we thought it was about time that we pulled some of the information together so that you can find out more and, if you wish, present it to others....

The latest edition of HA News includes full details of the 2019 Annual Conference programme in one of England's oldest cities – Chester, as well as news from the world of history education, an obituary of former HA President Donald Read (1930-2018), the centenary of the Nuneaton Branch, updates on Young Quills and the Great Debate, HA tours,...

For the 2018–19 season, the Nuneaton Branch of the HA is celebrating its centenary. Founded in 1919, by 1921 there were 78 members. In 1924, members went on a ‘charabanc’ tour of Leicestershire churches, ending at Fenny Drayton, where they joined in the celebrations for the tercentenary of the birth...

We are delighted to announce that the 2019 Medlicott Medal will be awarded to Professor Dame Janet L. Nelson – better known to all as Jinty. Jinty is a distinguished scholar of early medieval Europe and an influential figure to many historians. Her research has explored ideas of kingship and...

Education consultant Carmel Bones presents this BBC Class Clips video introducing ‘ClueTubers’ - a suite of films that will help students get to grips with the skills required to investigate historic sites. The video is aimed at GCSE and National 5 History teachers and gives an overview of the ‘ClueTubers’ films and...

Access Teaching History 173 here (free to HA Secondary Members) Opening Doors The theme for this edition of Teaching History draws part of its inspiration from calls for the school curriculum to give young people access to genuinely ‘powerful knowledge’: knowledge that will take them beyond the confines of their own...

In this podcast, Katy Cubitt, Professor of Medieval History at the University of East Anglia, discusses the ways the church developed and changed in 10th and 11th century England. This period involved the rise of the local parish and the emergence of religious leaders who would attempt to ‘restore and purify' the religious...

The film Peterloo has been reviewed as one of the cinematic achievements of 2018, dramatising the people and events that led to the infamous ‘Peterloo’ massacre in August 1819. Respected film-maker Mike Leigh created the film using historical records and sources from the period, as he and historical adviser Jacqueline...

2018 has – rightly – seen a strong emphasis on the story of the suffragettes, of those courageous individuals who took to militant methods to get the vote for women. This is not their story; it is the often-overlooked story of the many thousands of women and men who fought...

There has never been a more exciting time to study Anglo-Saxon history. Recent archaeological discoveries are transforming our understanding of the narrative of early English history and have added new layers of meaning to our existing knowledge. New methodologies such as the study of landscape and of gender have challenged...

As we approach Remembrance Day and of course the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, schools across the country have been carrying out their own acts of remembrance in the form of special services, memorials, trips and drop down days among many other activities. Social media...

This November marks 100 years from the Armistice of the First World War. The war had lasted over four years and had destroyed empires and rocked governments. Existing practices and ideals were challenged, families were torn apart, and Europe and the World would feel the effect and legacy of the...

It was the Battle at Bosworth that brought an end to the War of the Roses. Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor, ushering in a new dynasty to the monarchy of England and Wales. In recent years the battlefield at Bosworth has been investigated with archaeological excavations and new...

Archaeologists using hi-res motorised ground-penetrating radar have recently detected a well-preserved Viking ship burial, lying just 50cm below topsoil in farmland in south-east Norway. The ship’s 20-metre keel and timbers represent the fourth intact ship burial so far discovered in Norway. It is remarkable that this one has survived, because...

Access Primary History 80 (Free to HA Primary members) The Historical Association would never pretend that it understands what is the best primary history practice. On the contrary it recognises that such practice probably does not exist. Even outstanding ideas can turn into something disastrous if the teacher does not make...

Yesterday, the Royal Historical Society (RHS) launched their research report which highlights racial and ethnic inequalities in the teaching and practice of history in the UK. Less than 1% of university academics are Black, according to the RHS’s report. The report draws attention to the fact that while history remains...