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What do children think about the the royal family and the coronation of King Charles III?
Pupil voice vox pops films
Recently, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, was interviewed for American television about the future of the monarchy and thoughts about a slimmed down royal family in line with how some European royal families operate. At a recent event in partnership with City, University of London and Southampton University about the...
What do children think about the the royal family and the coronation of King Charles III?
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One of my favourite history places: Conwy
Primary History feature
The medieval walled town of Conwy, situated by the River Conwy and surrounded by the stunning and rugged Welsh countryside, is well deserving of its status as a World Heritage Site and is also my favourite history place.
Approach the town from the east side and the first thing you...
One of my favourite history places: Conwy
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How to make a toy museum
Primary History article
Making a museum in your setting or classroom is easy and children can learn all kinds of historical skills as well as developing their mark making and writing. Tees Valley Museums are a consortium of seven venues across the Tees Valley. Together they have created online support to develop a museum...
How to make a toy museum
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All the fun of the fair! Key Stage 1 – Beyond living memory
Primary History article
Alf Wilkinson outlines three activities looking at fairs past and present.
We all enjoy a visit to the fair, don’t we? There’s always a bit of a buzz when the fair comes to town. In my village it arrives just in time for Feast Weekend, in the summer holidays. The rides...
All the fun of the fair! Key Stage 1 – Beyond living memory
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What can you do with a Victorian Trade Directory…?
Primary History article
What is a trade directory?
Trade directories are the equivalent of the telephone directory and the Yellow Pages. They were published on a county or city basis every year and contain detailed descriptions of every village and town in the county. They also contain pages and pages of advertisements, for...
What can you do with a Victorian Trade Directory…?
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The importance of history vocabulary
Primary History article
Teachers and schools should surely be forgiven for quickly turning to the pages containing the ‘subject content' - within the new 2014 history curriculum - and finding out ‘what' they should be teaching. This is especially true for Key Stage 2 where children must now learn British history from the...
The importance of history vocabulary
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Poverty in Britain: A development study for Key Stage 2
Primary History article
One of the requirements for Key Stage 2 history is for some history that extends beyond 1066. Various suggestions have been made including an examination of change within a social theme. The example given is Crime and Punishment but the opportunities for something interesting are vast. This article focuses on...
Poverty in Britain: A development study for Key Stage 2
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The back cover image: Malachite Urn
Primary History feature
This large green urn was given as a gift to Queen Victoria in 1839 by Emperor Nicholas I, to thank her for the way in which his son Alexander had been welcomed in England the previous year. It was placed in the Grand Reception Room of Windsor Castle, and has...
The back cover image: Malachite Urn
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One of my favourite history places: Glastonbury
Primary History feature
Glastonbury, whether as a fleeting glimpse across the Somerset Levels from the M5, or up close and personal, walking within the town, holds a power that goes some way towards explaining why it has been of interest to so many people across its history. There are certain places that seem...
One of my favourite history places: Glastonbury
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One of my favourite history places: the Italian Chapel in Orkney
Primary History feature
One of my favourite places is the Italian Chapel on the tiny island of Lamb Holm on Orkney. It stands alone beside a concrete statue of St George, facing mainland Orkney across a stretch of water called Kirk Sound. It is approached from a road on a causeway which provides...
One of my favourite history places: the Italian Chapel in Orkney
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Migration to Britain through time
Primary History article
Migration is rarely absent from the news and arouses political, social cultural and emotional responses which range from compassion to hostility, racism and anti-racism. By exploring migration in the past, it is possible for children to go beyond current issues and appreciate that, rather than being a recent characteristic of...
Migration to Britain through time
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The history of medicine – warts and all – for Key Stage 2
Primary History article
The story of the history of medicine is HUGE! In fact, it’s a story within story within a story…
You only have to note the substantial amounts that have been written on the subject in the past, to realise that this is a story that could baffle and perplex even...
The history of medicine – warts and all – for Key Stage 2
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Happy 200th birthday Florence Nightingale!
Primary History article
2020 is undoubtedly going to be an important year in the nursing world and is a significant historical anniversary. The World Health Organisation has declared it the ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ in part because Florence Nightingale, the famous ‘Lady with the Lamp’, will be celebrating her 200th birthday...
Happy 200th birthday Florence Nightingale!
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Using the back cover image: painted wooden police truncheon
Primary History feature
This painted wooden police truncheon dates from the reign of King William IV (1830–37). It is decorated with a crown and the letters WIVR, standing for King William IV. For some pupils, its function may be obvious, for others it may be mistaken for a rounders or baseball bat, or...
Using the back cover image: painted wooden police truncheon
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Strange goings-on: exploring the benefits of learning history through outdoor pedagogy
Primary History article
Learning history outside the classroom has tremendous benefits. This article looks at one such example where children can get an immersive, residential historical experience. This not only provides a memorable learning experience, but the combination of an evocative setting, together with carefully crafted activities taught using an outdoor pedagogy, allows...
Strange goings-on: exploring the benefits of learning history through outdoor pedagogy
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Riding along on my pushbike… exploring transport in EYFS
Primary History article
There is a myriad of opportunities for exploring the history of travel and transport in Early Years. You could focus on the Montgolfier brothers’ hot air balloon flight in the late eighteenth century, the invention of steam trains and motor cars in the nineteenth century, or even the space race...
Riding along on my pushbike… exploring transport in EYFS
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Three first-class ladies – teaching significant individuals in Key Stage 1
Primary History article
The turn of the 20th century was in many ways a golden age of aviation. In 1903 the Wright brothers conquered heavier-than-air flight. From that time onward there were many other visionaries who wanted to be part of the dream of flying. The topic of early aviation history is an...
Three first-class ladies – teaching significant individuals in Key Stage 1
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The Blitz: All we need to know about World War II?
Primary History article
The Blitz of 1940 is certainly a significant event in Britain’s past, one which has repeatedly been drawn upon as a symbol of national consciousness. It was a time when most of Europe had been defeated by the Nazi regime in Germany, typically through ‘Blitzkrieg’ – or lightning war methods...
The Blitz: All we need to know about World War II?
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Women in parliament since 1918
Primary History article
At the 1918 election just one woman, Constance Markievicz, won a seat, in Dublin, for Sinn Fein. She was in prison at the time. At the time, of course, the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. All 73 Sinn Fein MPs refused to take up their seats, and...
Women in parliament since 1918
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Why stop at the Tudors?
Primary History article
When deciding to teach the topic of Benin to my Year 5 pupils I was somewhat daunted by the fact that I had never taught it before, and I was determined that it be a meaningful experience which benefited their narrative, chronological and historical skills-based understanding of the subject. I was...
Why stop at the Tudors?
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For whose God, King and country? Seeing the First World War through South Asian eyes
Primary History article
In October 1914 France faced defeat on what would later become the Western Front. If the Germans captured the channel ports then the small British Expeditionary Force (BEF) supporting the French would be cut off from Britain, and the channel ports themselves might be used to launch a German invasion of...
For whose God, King and country? Seeing the First World War through South Asian eyes
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Using the back cover image: Moustache cup
Primary History feature
The moustache cup I purchased on ebay is one of the most popular artefacts I use with students in a good game of ‘guess the object’. It has a wonderful quality of being at the same time familiar yet strange. Despite telling the students not to start with the question...
Using the back cover image: Moustache cup
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Using the back cover image: Exploring the collections of Victorian naturalists
Primary History feature
Many museums around the country house natural history collections that offer children the opportunity to engage with a wide variety of species from around the world. Using the collections of Victorian explorers and naturalists offers children a historical perspective with a cross-curricular approach which has a great appeal. Yet for...
Using the back cover image: Exploring the collections of Victorian naturalists
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Case Study: World War II evacuation project
Primary History article
Editorial note: The WOW factor. When we first received and read the World War II Evacuation Project case study we simply went WOW! It was genuinely mind-blowing. Below we publish the main sections of the report. They bring to life an invaluable, ground-breaking case-study of national significance.
The case-study involved...
Case Study: World War II evacuation project
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Ideas for Assemblies: Refugee stories
Primary History feature
Please note: this piece was written before Sir Mo Farah’s 2022 disclosure that he was trafficked to the UK as a child, so some of its content is no longer accurate.
An assembly could focus on the achievements of their lives, experiences as child refugees and migrants, and how they overcame...
Ideas for Assemblies: Refugee stories
