Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.

Rosalind Stirzaker has introduced some fascinating topics at Key Stage 3. Her pupils, living in Dubai, have the opportunity to study the Islamic Empire, the Mughal Empire and Mespotamia as well as many of the more conventional topics. Despite this exciting curriculum, pupils were limited by their simplistic level of evidential understanding. Year 8 seemed to be stuck at the level of rejecting sources because they were biased. How could she help her pupils to refine their understanding and see the subtleties involved in evaluating historical evidence? Inspiration came from Movie Maker and a few unusual props. The Battle of Panipat and Akbar the Great will not easily be forgotten, but the lessons of evidential understanding have also lasted.