There is no reason why pupils of so-called ‘average’ and ‘below-average ability’ cannot both understand and enjoy studying complicated international events. Indeed, in the interests of inclusion and raised standards, it is vital that they do. Our Letters Pages in the last two editions captured something of the history teaching community’s sense of urgency and moral commitment in this endeavour, in the face of pressures to deprive such pupils of academic subjects lest they weaken the school’s results. Phil Smith offers further ammunition. At Coney Green High School in Bury, (just north of Manchester), a school that serves areas of social deprivation and where plenty of pupils might easily be classified as falling into the lower or ‘less academic’ end of the ability range, he has presided over a transformation in which ‘teacher-led demonstration’ plays a key role. From one GCSE group of 17 pupils four years ago, the school now sees five full GCSE sets. History is the most popular option and results rival the best in the school. How has his department done it? They have done it by addressing the deep difficulties behind the things that pupils find hard or boring. Phil’s approach is not about incremental improvement, it is totally transformative. He is, quite simply, lifting pupils up out of boredom and limited horizons and into the knowledge and intellectual curiosity that have too long been denied them.