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Historical Association Secondary Survey 2021
Annual Survey Report on History in Secondary Schools
For the past 11 years we have been doing an annual survey into history teaching in secondary schools. This year our main focus was on the content of the history curriculum, examined with a particular focus on diversity.
It looks particularly at diversity understood in terms of race and ethnicity,...
Historical Association Secondary Survey 2021
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Ofsted research report into history 2021
14th July 2021
Ofsted writes: The study of history can bring pupils into a rich dialogue with the past and with the traditions of historical enquiry.
In this report, Ofsted have:
outlined the national context in relation to history
considered curriculum progression in history, pedagogy, assessment and the impact of school leaders’ decisions on provision...
Ofsted research report into history 2021
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Doing history: is it too dangerous to be a medieval historian?
Presidential Lecture
Podcast of Professor Anne Curry, President of the Historical Association. Friday 14th May 2010.
Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of Medieval History, Southampton University ‘Re your piece in the Daily Mail, 26 October 2009, on the battle of Agincourt, I was absolutely disgusted at the inference that...
Doing history: is it too dangerous to be a medieval historian?
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Making the most of your secondary membership
Information
Making the most of your HA membership
HA membership offers much more than just your subscription to Teaching History. As a member you can enjoy a holistic package of benefits and resources designed to support you, whatever challenge you may face. With the vast array of support available it can...
Making the most of your secondary membership
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Crime and Punishment Through Time
GCSE Topic Pack
Crime and Punishment is a development study that forms part of the SHP GCSE history course. It traces the concepts of, attitudes and approaches to crime and punishment and the maintainence of law and order through time. This helpful summary, written by a recent student, for students will guide you...
Crime and Punishment Through Time
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Supporting resources
Information
A wealth of resources exist on the rest of the HA website and on the HA Secondary Committee’s blog onebighistorydepartment (OBHD) to help teachers and to support better history teaching.
In addition, many books and articles have been published that are easily available to school history teachers. On this page you...
Supporting resources
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Into the Key Stage 3 history garden: choosing and planting your enquiry questions
Teaching History article
Drawing upon a range of practice, Michael Riley analyses the characteristics of a good enquiry question. He explores the importance of careful wording of the question if it is genuinely to help the teacher to integrate areas of content into a purposeful learning journey and without distortion.He then moves on...
Into the Key Stage 3 history garden: choosing and planting your enquiry questions
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CPD: Beyond the Ballot and Peterloo to the Pankhursts MOOCs
Secondary CPD from Royal Holloway, UK Parliament and People’s History Museum
Explore the history of the struggle for women’s suffrage and equality with this course developed by Royal Holloway, University of London, and the UK Parliament. With content from the Parliamentary Archives, the Women’s Library collection at the LSE Library and The National Archives; engaging videos, articles and quizzes; and a...
CPD: Beyond the Ballot and Peterloo to the Pankhursts MOOCs
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Subject Leader Development Programme (SLDP)
News Item
Book now
Spring 2026 Cohort
- Closed for booking
Summer 2026 Cohort
- Welcome meeting: Thursday 30 April, 4pm-5pm- Second meeting: Thursday 4 June, 4pm-5pm- Assessment meeting: Thursday 9 July, 4pm-5pm
If you have any questions please email Olivia at events@history.org.uk
What is the Subject Leader Development Programme?
The Subject Leader...
Subject Leader Development Programme (SLDP)
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Take a fresh look at corporate membership
New and improved features
Share the benefits with your colleagues and students
If you’re looking for wider support for your whole school history provision, then it might be time to consider corporate membership. Corporate membership offers a comprehensive package of support. It delivers all the benefits of individual membership plus an enhanced tier of resource and CPD access to boost the development...
Take a fresh look at corporate membership
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Delve deeper with The Historian magazine
The perfect support material for teachers and students
The Historian magazine offers the perfect support material for teachers. It’s an opportunity to learn more about those bits of history you may need a greater knowledge of for teaching, just have an interest in or to support your A-level and GCSE students with their studies. It’s also an ideal...
Delve deeper with The Historian magazine
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Past Time Toolkit: new learning resource about Victorian Prisons
New resource for teachers of GCSE history from Warwick University's Centre for the History of Medicine
Past Time Toolkit: A Learning Resource about Victorian Prisons is aimed at teachers of GCSE History students and is also of interest to anyone exploring the Victorians, prison history, isolation, or food history.
The resource is particularly useful to those working with the Edexel GCSE History course’s Crime and Punishment...
Past Time Toolkit: new learning resource about Victorian Prisons
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Great Debate FAQs
The Great Debate
Below are some frequently asked questions about the Great Debate and the logistics of the heats.
If you need more information, you can get in touch with us directly at greatdebate@history.org.uk.
How does the debate work?
Each student will have five minutes to deliver their argument in response to the...
Great Debate FAQs
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Historical Causation: Is One Thing More Important Than Another?
Branch Lecture Podcast
WHAT COLOUR ARE THE UNICORNS?Professor Steve Rigby, recently retired from the University of Manchester, delivered ‘Historical Causation: Is One Thing More Important Than Another?' to the Bolton Branch of the Historical Association on 29th November 2010. His lecture gives a fascinating introduction to the philosophy of historical causation, looking at...
Historical Causation: Is One Thing More Important Than Another?
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HA Secondary History Survey 2010
Survey
Findings from the Historical Association survey of secondary history teachers 2010
Summary of key concerns about history teaching in English secondary schools
*Full report attached below
1. The changing face of history teaching at Key Stage 3 (11-14): an emphasis on generic skills at the expense of subject knowledge and...
HA Secondary History Survey 2010
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Suffrage Poster Competition Winners
17th July 2019
Congratulations to four students from Newport Girls' High School – Daniah, Romaisa, Hetavi and Saira – who created the winning poster for our Suffrage competition.
The poster had a modern message while demonstrating research and inspiration from a local suffragist from the past. The judges at the HA were very...
Suffrage Poster Competition Winners
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Doing History at University 2025
Thinking of studying history at university?
Booking closed
(Registration is via Cademy which opens in a new window. Please read the HA CPD terms and conditions before registering)
We are pleased to be hosting a Doing History at University event for students and teachers in partnership with the University of Sheffield. The aim of the event is to...
Doing History at University 2025
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Young Historian Awards 2026 – take part (Secondary prizes)
History competition for students
The 2026 competition is now open. Entries close on 17 July 2026 (3 July for overseas entries).
Researching, writing and presenting ideas about a historical theme or period is one of the best parts about studying history. We want young school and college aged students to get the bug for...
Young Historian Awards 2026 – take part (Secondary prizes)
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Get into Teaching
Considering a career in teaching?
Teaching – and especially teaching history! – can be a wonderful and rewarding career. The HA have many years experience working with primary and secondary teachers from trainee level through to heads of history and we're here to help you on your path. We have a comprehensive set of guides and resources for anyone...
Get into Teaching
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Bob Dylan and the concept of evidence
Teaching History article
No edition of Teaching History devoted to creativity could be complete without returning to the riches that popular songs offer to historians and history teachers alike. The five Bob Dylan songs that Christopher Edwards explores here are chosen not merely for their ‘literary qualities' and ‘emotional charge'; they also provide...
Bob Dylan and the concept of evidence
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Polychronicon 140: Why did the Cold War End?
Teaching History feature
The end of the Cold War is a controversial subject. Contemporary analysts did not see it coming. Any explanation of its ending which seeks to build up a network of causation will therefore be forced to make arguments based on events whose significance was not necessarily seen at the time....
Polychronicon 140: Why did the Cold War End?
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Being historically rigorous with creativity
Teaching History article
After a Fellowship in Holocaust Education at the Imperial War Museum, Andy Lawrence decided that something was missing in normal approaches to teaching emotive and controversial issues such as genocide, a deficit demonstrated by recent research by the Holocaust Education Development Programme. As part of his fellowship, Lawrence created an...
Being historically rigorous with creativity
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Chatting about the sixties: historical reasoning in essay-writing
Teaching History article
An article about essay writing may not seem the most obvious choice for an issue of Teaching History devoted to creative thinking. Yet, as Christine Counsell so richly demonstrated in her work on analytical and discursive writing, the process of crafting an argument is a highly complex and creative challenge....
Chatting about the sixties: historical reasoning in essay-writing
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'Picture This': A simple technique to teach complex concepts
Teaching History article
When Peter Clements was introduced to the creative strategy that he describes in this article, his immediate reaction was to dismiss it as childish and trivial. Yet, upon closer examination, he realised that ‘Picture This' offered far more than a lively way of increasing variety and engagement in his GCSE...
'Picture This': A simple technique to teach complex concepts
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Cunning Plan 140: bringing history to life
Teaching History feature
Whether you are have been inspired to emulate the achievements of the Living History group described in this issue's Triumphs Show, or are simply seeking to create some ‘authentic' props for an intriguing starter, or exploratory role-play, Jonathan Davies here explains how you can find out more about historical re-enactment...
Cunning Plan 140: bringing history to life
