History - Additional Information
Among the usual merry-go-round of Trials and Prelims, the History Department has been busy organising a number of events.
On 27th January, the sixty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet army, the Head of History, Mr Fitzsimmons and the Chaplain, Father Quick, led a chapel service devoted to remembering the victims of ethnic cleansing and genocide in the 20th Century. As the first of our Holocaust Memorial Days, it was felt important to establish this event in a relatively low-key way: Mr Fitzsimmons explained briefly why it was important to recognise this day in the school calendar, with its emphasis on the ‘Legacy of Hope’. The Chaplain had chosen some apposite hymns and prayers for the occasion. The centre-piece of the service was the showing of the HMD video on the Legacy of Hope, featuring a number of survivors of the Holocaust. Pupils listened intently and respectfully to what was said before filing out of Chapel in unusually solemn and thoughtful mode.
With modules over ,and to lighten the depressing January weather ,Mrs Billing, new to the History Department this year, organised a superb Tudor History theme evening for our AS and A2 historians. Central to the evening was a Tudor feast prepared by the pupils and a number of Tudor challenges, including a quiz and some memorable Tudor speeches ranging from a poem of Henry VIII to Elizabeth I’s Tilbury speech of 1588. Everyone was encouraged to dress up in costume with a Tudor theme. The prize for most convincing Tudor dress went to Mr Proctor, resplendent in his hose and waistcoat.
Finally, the Department,in conjunction with Spanish and Art and Design, is running a trip to Barcelona in the Spring half-term. Led by Mr Proctor and Senorita de Celis Lucas, the pupils will explore the historical and artistic delights of the Catalan capital, sampling the local culture and cuisine, and practising their Spanish on the unsuspecting locals. A Spanish trip has been the staple of our trips for the last four years and has proved particularly popular amongst pupils. Past destinations have included Seville, Madrid and Granada.
Visiting Lecturers
The Department encourages the study of History outside the classroom with a series of lectures, primarily aimed at the Sixth Form, attracting prominent University Academics who are world experts in their field.
University Admissions
In recent years pupils have gone on to study History at Glasgow, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Durham, Aberdeen, University College London, Bristol, and Oxford. Some have embarked upon archaeology courses at Leeds, Aberdeen and Glasgow. In addition a number of History pupils have won places on joint degree courses with Politics and Modern Languages, and in the related fields of International Relations and War Studies.
Useful Web-Links
A list of useful websites can be found here as a pdf document.