Databases and spreadsheets used to terrify many history teachers and even where some skill was gained, these tools were approached in a spirit of professional worthiness rather than of intellectual excitement. Rob Alfano oozes intellectual excitement and it is pretty obvious that he communicates this to his pupils. His approaches to involving databases and spreadsheets in historical enquiry are laced with attention to historical rigour, precise use of historical concepts and, above all, a range of learning objectives that develop pupils’ evidential understanding. Moreover, through these activities pupils get beyond stereotypical images of the past and develop rich and detailed knowledge, freeing them to debate issues in a more informed way than is common in Year 9. If this interests you, take even more comfort: until recently, Rob was an ICT novice in the use of databases and spreadsheets, developing these approaches only in the wake of his HA NOF training.