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Webinar series: AI in primary history
HA webinar series for primary teachers and history subject leaders
What does this series cover?
The proliferation of generative artificial intelligence is transforming education, the economy and society at a blistering pace. In the face of such seismic change, it can feel daunting. Whatever your level of experience with AI, this new webinar series will equip you to make informed...
Webinar series: AI in primary history
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Florence Nightingale
Primary History resource
Born: May 1820; Died: August 1910
Background and early life
Florence Nightingale was born to a wealthy evangelical family in Florence, Italy in 1820. She was named after her place of birth. It was normal at the time for girls from wealthy families to be educated at home by a governess,...
Florence Nightingale
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Inspiring History Teaching Awards
Historic Royal Palaces launches brand-new Inspiring History Teaching Awards in association with the Historical Association
Entries to this year's awards have now closed. National and regional winners will be announced on Wednesday 25 March 2026. The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday 20 June 2026 at the Tower of London, where the overall winner will be announced.
Historic Royal Palaces’ launched the inaugural Inspiring History...
Inspiring History Teaching Awards
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Black History Month 2025
News Item
Black History Month is an important opportunity to explore the histories of people who have often been excluded from popular narratives. While the idea of one month on Black history might appear tokenistic or simplistic, it does not have to mean sticking to already well-known characters or limited themes. Therefore,...
Black History Month 2025
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A local history toolkit
Toolkit
Produced by the Historical Association for the National Literacy Trust's "The Olden Times" newspaper resource, May 2011. For more recent resources on local history enquiries see:
Local significant individuals
Local history scheme of work: your local high street
Local history scheme of work: transport
Incorporating local history into a scheme...
A local history toolkit
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Write Your Own Historical Fiction 2025 – The winners
The HA’s writing competition for children aged 10-15 years
Take time, a place and a character or two, and you can create some of the most exciting stories ever told – and by telling a story you unleash a desire to seek knowledge, to entertain, to inform and to enrich the lives of others. Storytelling is one of the oldest...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction 2025 – The winners
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Essex Branch History
Branch History
Essex Branch - Early DaysEssex Branch was founded in 1920 or earlier and was active continuously until 1936. In 1920-1 the president was H. de Havilland of The Manor House, Great Horkesley, and the secretary Mr. E.T. Baldwin of Earls Colne Grammar School. There were 56 branch members and 8...
Essex Branch History
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Previous Young Quills winners
Information
Each year the Historical Association runs the Young Quills, a competition for published historical fiction for children and young adults. The Young Quills books for each year must be published for the first time in English in the year preceding the competition. Divided by age suitability, the books are given...
Previous Young Quills winners
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Young Historian Awards 2025 – the winners
4th September 2025
Spirit of Normandy Trust SeniorAvani De Santis [Guildford Grammar School, Western Australia]Kyle Luk [Loughborough Grammar School] Caspar Wright [Wells Cathedral School]
Spirit of Normandy Trust Key Stage 3 Anne Andrews [St Mary’s Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy, Leeds]Rafferty Ludlow-Maisey [Crypt Grammar School, Gloucester]Robert Moczynski [Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield]
Spirit of...
Young Historian Awards 2025 – the winners
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Webinar series: Making history accessible
On-demand webinar series for subject leaders and teachers of history
What does this series cover and why should I attend?
In recent years, the UK’s SEND system has been under the spotlight. As numbers of students with identified special educational needs increase, attention has been given to how to best embed inclusive practice, enabling teachers to support all students to...
Webinar series: Making history accessible
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What Does the English Baccalaureate mean for me?
Briefing Pack
Please note: this resource pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. Some content may be outdated and some links may no longer work.
History constitutes a key player in the new English Baccalaureate, being one of the two choices that students may opt for in the Humanities section. The English Baccalaureate is a...
What Does the English Baccalaureate mean for me?
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Young Quills 2025 – the winners
The Young Quills Awards for best historical fiction for young people
Each year, the Historical Association runs the Young Quills, a competition for published historical fiction for children and young adults (14+). The Young Quills books for each year must be published for the first time in English in the year preceding the competition – so 2024 for this year’s selection....
Young Quills 2025 – the winners
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HA Honorary Fellows 2025
HA awards
We are delighted to announce the Honorary Fellows for 2025.
Each year the Historical Association awards Honorary Fellowships to a small group of people. These awards are to recognise and celebrate outstanding services to history and to the Historical Association. The awards cover services to the Historical Association Branches (of which there are...
HA Honorary Fellows 2025
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Primary Committee biographies
Information
Find out more about the HA's committees here
Helen Crawford (Committee Chair)
Helen studied history at university and has worked in primary schools for twenty years as a class teacher, history subject leader, inclusion manager and senior leader. Most of her teaching career has been in London schools, but...
Primary Committee biographies
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100 editions of Primary History
11th June 2025
We've reached 100!
We are proud to announce the publication of the 100th edition of Primary History, dedicated to supporting and inspiring primary educators in the teaching of history. Since its first issue in 1992, Primary History has become a trusted companion for teachers, curriculum leaders, and education researchers across the...
100 editions of Primary History
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The Norfolk and Norwich Branch History
Branch History
The Norfolk and Norwich Branch - a short historyThe branch was founded in 1920, at the instigation of two local teachers, W. J. Blake (the father the famous historian, Robert, Lord Blake) and Walter Stephenson, the father of our most long-serving (1941-1962) president, Andrew Stephenson, who was himself a distinguished...
The Norfolk and Norwich Branch History
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Manchester Branch History
Branch History
Manchester Branch is proud of its role in the foundation of the Historical Association (HA) in 1906. Professor Thomas Frederick Tout and others at Manchester University had been discussing the idea of forming an Association to promote the teaching of a more relevant and vibrant form of history than was...
Manchester Branch History
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The Medlicott Medal 2025
30th April 2025
The Historical Association is delighted to announce that the Medlicott Medal 2025 will be awarded to Dr Christine Counsell.
The award seeks to recognise individuals from a diversity of backgrounds in their service to history.
Christine will be known to many at the HA, as throughout her career she has...
The Medlicott Medal 2025
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Great Debate Final 2025
14th April 2025
Winner:
Quinn Scott – Chesterton Community College, Cambridge
Runners up:
Anya Bensouiah – Kendrick School, Reading
Fred Bosley – The King’s School, Canterbury
Aimee Nelson – Bablake School, Coventry
Finalists:
Emily Tweddle, Earlston High School, Scottish Borders
Hannah Brearton, Upton Hall, Oxford
Rosie Thomson, The Maynard School, Exeter
Isabella Passarelli, Torquay Girls Grammar School,...
Great Debate Final 2025
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On-demand webinar series: Direct history teaching
HA webinar series for history teachers at KS3 and KS4
What does this series cover?
In this webinar series, explore a direct approach to teaching history. Presenters Jacob Olivey and Mike Hill will advocate for ‘lean lessons’ that focus on reading, explanation, and discussion to build pupils’ historical knowledge and understanding – with no worksheets, activities, or group work in...
On-demand webinar series: Direct history teaching
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On-demand webinar series: Developing students’ historical thinking at A-level
HA webinar series for subject leaders and teachers of history at KS5
What does this series cover?
This webinar series will help you to support your A-level students to gain detailed knowledge of particular periods and to engage in rigorous historical thinking. The topics covered will include building students’ knowledge, developing students’ disciplinary understanding in order to help them construct arguments in...
On-demand webinar series: Developing students’ historical thinking at A-level
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More than ever, history and historians need a collaborative and co-ordinated approach
27th February 2025
It’s been an especially grim start to 2025 for many in UK higher education. News in early January of cuts and job losses at the universities of Canterbury Christ Church, Northampton and Staffordshire has been followed by announcements from Cardiff, Durham, Newcastle, Reading and, once again, Kent. This, moreover, is...
More than ever, history and historians need a collaborative and co-ordinated approach
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LGBTQ+ History Month 2026
20th January 2026
February is LGBTQ+ History Month and the Historical Association has spent a number of years ensuring that the ways in which the past has recorded and represented these communities has been included in our general output. A key issue of presenting the work of historians who are investigating this history...
LGBTQ+ History Month 2026
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Teach Climate History free event: climate action and history teaching in Aotearoa, New Zealand
Thursday 27 February 4.30-5.30pm, online
The climate crisis demands new approaches to education. One way teachers can respond is by making different choices about what and how we teach. In this talk, Michael Harcourt and Haimana Hirini present a project from Taitā College, a secondary school in Te Awakairangi, New Zealand, that integrated mātauranga (Indigenous...
Teach Climate History free event: climate action and history teaching in Aotearoa, New Zealand
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Lord North: The Noble Lord in the Blue Ribbon
Classic Pamphlet
In the last weeks of his life Lord North, we are told, expressed anxiety about his place in history - ‘how he stood and would stand in the world'. This, he owned, ‘might be a weakness, but he could not help it'. It was a weakness one suspects that he...
Lord North: The Noble Lord in the Blue Ribbon
