Research review series: History – July 2021: Summary of main points

In this summary, Tim Lomas identifies key points presented in the history research review. Includes work of Ofsted Research and Evaluation Team. 

1. More schools now seem to have adequate time for history. In primary, 1–2 hours a fortnight and in secondary, 2–4 hours. Provisional entries for 2021’s history GCSE were 278,880 and A-level 41,585. This is a small increase on the previous year.

2. Progress in history is identified as through building knowledge and understanding how historians construct the past. Abstract concepts are best learnt through meaningful content and repeated encounters in different contexts...