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The History around us: Local history
Primary History article
Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.
History is an important aspect of the development of even very young children. They need to begin to develop the foundations of an understanding of the past and how it has developed and affected our present....
The History around us: Local history
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HA awards evening 2022 round-up
21st July 2022
On 7 July in central London the Historical Association held our annual awards evening. The evening is an opportunity to present in person the awards for some of the competitions that the HA organises and to recognise many of the people who have achieved awards in history, contributed to the...
HA awards evening 2022 round-up
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Revising the Elizabethans
Revising the Elizabethans
In this series of podcasts Andy Harmsworth offers some advice and suggestions to help you when revising the Elizabethans for the GCSE History Exam.
Revising the Elizabethans
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Higher Education Committee biographies
HA Committees
Read the Higher Education Committee's remit
Find out more about the HA's committees
Katharine Burn
Katharine Burn is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Oxford, where she teaches on the PGCE History programme and on a range of part-time Masters courses for practising teachers. She is co-editor of the HA’s professional...
Higher Education Committee biographies
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Story-telling and simulation exemplar: The Great Exeter Fish War of 1309
Exemplar
The lesson was taught to 44 Year 3 children in a first school in Exeter. It describes how a story was used to introduce a local history unit, and how we followed it up. To begin, we sat the children on the carpet and told them John Hooker's story about...
Story-telling and simulation exemplar: The Great Exeter Fish War of 1309
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Teaching the Ancient Greeks: an introduction
Reference guide
This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
Please note: this guide was written before the new National Curriculum...
Teaching the Ancient Greeks: an introduction
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Ancient Egypt
Reference guide for primary
This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers and subject leaders, join the Historical Association today
Please note: this guide was written before the new National Curriculum...
Ancient Egypt
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Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings Lessons
Lesson Plans
Please note: these lessons were produced as part of the Nuffield Primary History project (1991-2009) and pre-date the 2014 National Curriculum.
This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts along with free or discounted CPD and membership of a thriving community of teachers...
Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings Lessons
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Britain and the Wider World in Tudor Times
Reference
The wider world: The Tudors ruled Britain during a fascinating and fast-changing century. Europe emerged from the Middle Ages, and Europeans sailed across the oceans, reaching the East, discovering the New World of America, establishing colonies, and circumnavigating the world for the first time (Ferdinand Magellan in 1517, and Francis...
Britain and the Wider World in Tudor Times
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The Right Kind of History. An Interview with Nicola Sheldon, Jenny Keating and John Hamer
Interview
Sir David Cannadine has written the book that tells the history of history in schools. On the podcast on this site he outlines some of his reasons for wanting to write the book and what his findings were. But alongside his name on the front cover are his research team...
The Right Kind of History. An Interview with Nicola Sheldon, Jenny Keating and John Hamer
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David Cannadine Interview about his book: The Right Kind of History
Cannadine Interview
Sir David Cannadine has done the unthinkable he has traced the teaching of history in state schools since the beginning. In his book The Right Kind of History: Teaching the Past in Twentieth-Century England he explores the real history of history education the truth is discovered to that age old...
David Cannadine Interview about his book: The Right Kind of History
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Battle of Arnhem Anniversary
75 years since Operation Market Garden
This September marks the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem in 1944 - otherwise known as Operation Market Garden. Launched on 17 September, it was an Allied attack to take further parts of Western Europe from Nazi control and continue the push created over the summer.
Building on the successes...
Battle of Arnhem Anniversary
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Vikings settle down
Lesson Plan (KS2)
Please note: this lesson was produced as part of the Nuffield Primary History project (1991-2009) and pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum. It is part of a full sequence of lessons available here.
This resource is free to everyone. For access to hundreds of other high-quality resources by primary history experts...
Vikings settle down
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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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Primary History 81: Out now
HA journal news
It seems we can’t escape the word ‘curriculum’ these days. The start of the year has brought us Ofsted’s new draft inspection framework, currently out for consultation. There is a new focus on the substance of education: what gets taught and how it gets taught. At first glance, there is...
Primary History 81: Out now
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Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings
Primary Lesson Plans
Please note: these resources were produced as part of the Nuffield Primary History project (1991-2009) and pre-date the 2014 National Curriculum.
A series of lessons, exemplars and guides to help you teach your students about the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings.
Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings
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Primary History 80: Out now
HA journal news
Access Primary History 80 (Free to HA Primary members)
The Historical Association would never pretend that it understands what is the best primary history practice. On the contrary it recognises that such practice probably does not exist. Even outstanding ideas can turn into something disastrous if the teacher does not make...
Primary History 80: Out now
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Report on the Historical Association Tour of Cardiff and its environs
31st August 2018
Twenty-three people met in the comfortable Clayton Hotel in central Cardiff in June to attempt to assimilate two thousand years of Welsh history in a week. We were blessed with a heatwave, a bustling city environment, and a lot to see. We started on the eastern edge of South Wales...
Report on the Historical Association Tour of Cardiff and its environs
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DfE clarifies reference to enquiry-based learning
8th August 2018
Following the Department of Education’s recent call for pilot schools to bid for Curriculum Development Funds, the Historical Association (HA) sought clarification specifically connected to disciplinary understanding. Within the guidance, the DfE sets out its criteria for programmes, one of which is that they should be structured on the basis of...
DfE clarifies reference to enquiry-based learning
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The Vikings - Primary E-CPD
Primary e-CPD unit
The purpose of this unit is to provide for teachers' subject knowledge on the Vikings. This reflects a need for up-to-date and scholarly historical knowledge, but this also demonstrates that it is essential to see the Vikings as having diversified experiences and impacts over time in a variety of geographical contexts...
The Vikings - Primary E-CPD
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She-Wolves
Review
She-wolves, Helen Castor, Faber and Faber, 2010, 474p, ISBN 978-0-571-23705-0, £20-00.The central focus of Helen Castor's She-wolves is the fact that, when Edward VI died in 1553, every one of his potential successors within the Tudor line was a woman. Unlike in France, there was no clear bar to a...
She-Wolves
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Primary Outstanding History Providers
Whitwell Primary School
What does it mean to be an outstanding provider of primary history? What does this look like? The best way to answer these questions is to see for yourself.
N.B. This unit was produced a number of years ago and shows some examples of what Ofsted considered outstanding history.
We...
Primary Outstanding History Providers
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Historical Association Cookies Policy
Information
We use cookies to make your experience of our website as good as possible.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small data files that are sent to your computer or mobile phone from a website's server and stored on your device's hard drive. Most websites you visit will use cookies in...
Historical Association Cookies Policy
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Historical Association Privacy Notice
Information
The Historical Association is committed to the protection of your privacy. We take your rights seriously and treat all the information you give us with care.
This privacy notice explains how and why we collect, store and use the personal data you give us, to ensure you stay informed and...
Historical Association Privacy Notice
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Tudor Government
Classic Pamphlet
On 21 August 1485 Henry Tudor won the battle of Bosworth in Leicestershire and established himself as Henry VII, King of England. He had landed in Wales two weeks before, the Lancastrian claimant to the throne against the incumbent Yorkist, Richard III. He had received assistance from Charles VIII of...
Tudor Government
