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Out and About with homing pigeons in the Great War
Historian feature
Trevor James emphasises the role and importance of ‘messenger’ pigeons on the Western Front.
Amidst the one-hundredth anniversary commemorations of the ending of the Great War, there has been a sudden burst of interest, in such varying locations as both Houses of Parliament and the Antiques Roadshow, in the role...
Out and About with homing pigeons in the Great War
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HA Annual Conference round-up 2023
Majestic Hotel, Harrogate, 12-13 May 2023
If you're interested in presenting in 2024, find details below.
HA Annual Conference 2023, Harrogate
We hope everyone who was able to attend Annual Conference 2023 in-person or online has now managed to catch breath – because it really was quite a whirlwind of talks, workshops, creativity, famous names and...
HA Annual Conference round-up 2023
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Scheme of Work: The Blitz: all we need to know about World War II?
Primary Scheme of Work, Key Stage 2 History (resourced)
This unit provides children with the opportunity to look at the Second World War as an aspect of British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066.
This 8-part enquiry is useable in full or to use sections of as stand alone shorter enquiries. Pupils will be encouraged to examine different...
Scheme of Work: The Blitz: all we need to know about World War II?
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Hitler’s British Isles: The Real Story of the Occupied Channel Islands
Book Review
Hitler’s British Isles: The Real Story of the Occupied Channel Islands, Duncan Barrett, Simon and Schuster, 2018, 413p, £20-00. ISBN 978-1-4711-6637-2
Having just read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Bloomsbury 2008), this very interesting book has now extended considerably my understanding of the nature of the experiences of...
Hitler’s British Isles: The Real Story of the Occupied Channel Islands
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History-specific support – for every career stage
Information
Register for the HA's SLT newsletter for more
Our biannual SLT newsletter will give you up-to-date information and support on managing history including updates on current issues, priorities and policy issues. Register here
Subject-specific support is an essential investment in your teaching staff, equipping them with the knowledge and...
History-specific support – for every career stage
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Young Historian Awards 2022 – the winners
Annual history competition for schools
This was a very positive year for the Young Historian Awards. The judging panel continue to be delighted by the quality of the work submitted in a variety of formats by young historians. Although entry levels were lower than during the pandemic, the data confirms that, with the exception of...
Young Historian Awards 2022 – the winners
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Popular revolt and the rise of early modern states
Article
In the 1960s and 1970s, historians and sociologists who were not specialists in the Middle Ages constructed models of pre-industrial crowds and revolt to understand the distinctiveness of modern, post-French Revolutionary, Europe. Foremost among these scholars were George Rudé, a historian of eighteenth century England and France, and Charles Tilly,...
Popular revolt and the rise of early modern states
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Free primary curriculum guidance on offer
HA Annual Conference 2023
A message from HA Assistant Vice-President Mike Maddison:
At the HA Annual Conference 2023 I will be leading a primary session entitled ‘How case studies will help you to review, refresh and renew the history curriculum’ (in-person and virtual).
The aim is to provide guidance on how you might improve your...
Free primary curriculum guidance on offer
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A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: The Forgotten William Dampier
Article
In September 1683 in the Cape Verde Islands William Dampier lay 'obscured' among the scrubby vegetation to do some bird watching. He was excited for he had just caught his first sight of flamingos. The detail and delicacy of his description would gladden any modern ornithologist. They were, he wrote,...
A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: The Forgotten William Dampier
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What confuses primary pupils in history? Part 1
Primary History article
This article is primarily concerned with how pupil progress is affected negatively by general misunderstandings and confusions. What are some of these confusions? Here are what some teachers felt were some of the main ones:
Muddling issues from one period or place with those of another place.
People in the past must...
What confuses primary pupils in history? Part 1
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What can you do with an old postcard?
Primary History article
Whether looking at ‘events in living memory’ at Key Stage 1, or a local history study at Key Stage 2, old postcards are extremely useful. They are also relatively cheap and easy to get hold of.
One aspect that can easily be explored using old postcards is evidence - they are an...
What can you do with an old postcard?
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Young Historian Awards 2024 – take part (Primary prizes)
History competition for primary schools
We want young people to get the bug for writing about history in an interesting and critical way. Each year the Historical Association in collaboration with the Spirit of Normandy Trust offers a series of awards to Primary school children for outstanding history scholarship. Children are asked to investigate, think and write about history. The...
Young Historian Awards 2024 – take part (Primary prizes)
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Young Historian Awards 2024 – take part (Secondary prizes)
History competition for students
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 writing about history in an incisive, interesting and critical way.
That is why each year the Historical...
Young Historian Awards 2024 – take part (Secondary prizes)
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Teaching History 170: Historians
The HA's journal for secondary history teachers
02 Editorial (Read article)
03 HA Secondary News
04 HA Update – make a ‘connecting with historical Scholarship’ resolution!
08 Myths and Monty Python: using the witch-hunts to introduce students to significance – Kerry Apps (Read article)
16 ‘This extract is no good, miss!’ Helping post-16 students to make judgements...
Teaching History 170: Historians
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Talking to an HA Branch
Information
The inevitable answer is of course that branches differ in their audiences, with some having a smattering of academics, some with teachers and others largely made up with people with an interest in the subject but not professionally involved in history. That means some people will be relying on what...
Talking to an HA Branch
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Write Your Own Historical Fiction Competition 2024
The Historical Association Historical Fiction Prize
Entries to the 2024 competition are now closed.
Each year we are so impressed by the ever increasing number and standard of entries we receive around such a wide range of historical periods and settings. You can take a look at some of last year’s winning entries here.
Unleash the creativity...
Write Your Own Historical Fiction Competition 2024
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Announcing the winners of the Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2022
The HA's writing competition for children aged 10-19 years
The HA's writing competition for children aged 10-19 years
After another year of high-quality fiction writing from our young people, we are pleased to announce that the winners in all of the categories are:
School Years 5-6:
Eloise Burt – The HMS Titanic. Old Priory Junior Academy, Plymouth
Hannah Tan...
Announcing the winners of the Write Your Own Historical Fiction competition 2022
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Twickenham as a Patriotic Town
Article
Twickenham from the 1890s onwards grew as a town with a special sense of history. Nobody in authority on the local council could quite forget the reputation which the district had acquired as a rural arcadia. The aristocrats and gentry who built villas in the parish in the late 17th...
Twickenham as a Patriotic Town
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4 Ways to save on your membership
Information
At the HA, we know that budgets are tight and being able to afford access to the best resources, CPD, guidance and support can be difficult. In addition to tax relief, there are a number of other ways that you can save money on your membership fee:
Claiming tax relief...
4 Ways to save on your membership
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Corporate secondary membership: a view from SLT
By Simon Harrison, Headteacher
From history teacher to Headteacher, in over 25 years of teaching I have filled most school roles; history teacher, in the ‘middle’ as a subject leader, an Advanced Skills Teacher, senior leader and eventually Headteacher. I have learned a lot about leadership in Secondary Schools along the way, and becoming...
Corporate secondary membership: a view from SLT
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Looking through the keyhole at Birkenhead from 1900 to 1950 with Year 7
Journal article
Matt Jones wanted to harness the power of local history to help his students understand the profound social changes experienced across Britain in the first half of the twentieth century.
While he hoped that the personal stories of six families in Birkenhead would help to humanise abstract concepts such as...
Looking through the keyhole at Birkenhead from 1900 to 1950 with Year 7
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Defying the ‘constrictive grip of typologies’
Journal article
History teachers have frequently made recourse to character cards as a device to help young people, each assigned specific roles, to understand how different kinds of people responded in different ways to particular situations in the past.
Edward FitzGerald builds on this tradition, demonstrating the value of using rich historical...
Defying the ‘constrictive grip of typologies’
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“They Ought to Know the Achievements of the Ancient Greeks”
IJHLTR Article
International Journal of Historical Learning, Teaching and Research [IJHLTR], Volume 15, Number 1 – Autumn/Winter 2017ISSN: 14472-9474
Abstract
This paper focus on the role of archaeology and material culture in supporting national narratives for younger generations, examining the ideas and perceptions of prospective teachers of Greek Primary Education. Firstly, the contribution...
“They Ought to Know the Achievements of the Ancient Greeks”
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The Past, the Present and the Future of the Economic Crisis, through Greek Students’ Accounts of their History
IJHLTR Article
International Journal of Historical Learning, Teaching and Research [IJHLTR], Volume 15, Number 1 – Autumn/Winter 2017ISSN: 14472-9474
Abstract
This is an analysis of 97 written questionnaires given to university students’, prospective teachers’. Students were asked first to narrate the Greek state’s history, second to make predictions about the future. It took...
The Past, the Present and the Future of the Economic Crisis, through Greek Students’ Accounts of their History
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HA Blog Watch
Selected history education blogs
We've collated some of the best history education blogs here. The list isn't exhaustive so if there is a great history education blog out there that is not on this list – let us know!
One Big History Department
HA Secondary Committee blog
One Big History Department (OBHD) has been...
HA Blog Watch
