History is taught throughout the school and is a perennially popular subject with children of all ages who are genuinely fascinated by the past. Teachers strive to keep learning hands on as much as possible and in all year groups drama, art and artefact exploration are incorporated in topics wherever possible.
In Pre-Prep, historical knowledge and enquiry skills are taught explicitly by class teachers and in addition, topics are used as a context for learning in other curriculum areas, particularly English. Topics are carefully chosen to ensure that children are able to relate to the content and rehearse key skills such as chronology, making comparisons and using information texts for research.
In the Prep School, girls have a double lesson of History each week, taught by a specialist teacher. Knowledge and content is delivered using engaging and active strategies and we ensure that historical enquiry and investigation skills are integrated into each unit taught. Wherever possible, specialist teachers work together to create links by using historical contexts in order to engage learners and encourage girls to transfer their skills into other curriculum areas and tasks.
We aim to bring history to life for all year groups and organise a variety of special events, such as competitions, visitors and trips. We organise, for example: day trips to Welwyn Roman Ruins, Mill Green Museum, St Albans Victorian Courtrooms and Hatfield House. In addition, we organise a number of ‘Living History’ experiences in school. On these days, the girls come to school in costume and spend the day in role, for example: they might be Anglo-Saxons or Ancient Greeks working in the market place, doing as they’re told by the emperor or gathering to vote in the agora. We welcome visitors to the school who are able to provide first hand, primary evidence of significant lives or events, for example: WWII evacuees and even professional actors in role as significant people from the past, such as Elizabeth I.
