History is taught throughout the Beacon from Reception to Year Eight, culminating with scholarship level work for the most able. The syllabus is based on the National Curriculum guidelines and tailored to meet the demands of Common Entrance in Years Seven and Eight.

In Reception the teaching of History is largely oral and involves a great deal of comparison and contrast between the past and the present. In Year One, boys are encouraged to consider those of another generation; such as parents and grandparents. They are introduced to a sense of chronology, using a family tree and timelines both in an historical and a family context. Year Two builds upon the work begun in the previous year, and pupils look at children during the Second World War. They are also introduced to the idea that famous people have lived before us and that their lives were meaningful and above all interesting, drawing upon the lives of significant men, women and children from the history of Britain and the wider world; for example Florence Nightingale. In the Middle School boys learn about the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians, as well as the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. Transport, explorers and the differences between the rich and the poor in Tudor England are also studied. Boys in the Upper School follow a chronological course of study, beginning with the Battle of Hastings and Medieval England. In Year Seven they gain an overview of the period 1500–1750, some of which through a consideration of a range of portraits, leading onto a study of historical interpretations. Year Eight pupils investigate the causes behind the French Revolution and later, World War One.

“Tell me something and I’ll forget it; Show me something and I’ll remember it; Let me do something and I’ll understand it.”

At The Beacon School we endeavour to introduce pupils to what is involved in understanding and interpreting the past; to trigger off their spirit of enquiry; to capture pupils' attention and stimulate their imagination - to carry them off into the past, evoking interest and curiosity. Boys are fortunate therefore, to experience many hands on events and visits, for example Celtic life in a working Iron Age Settlement; annual Greek, Roman, Tudor & Archaeology Days in the school; a visit to the Bayeux Tapestry in Normandy and a working Tudor estate in Kentwell.

It goes without saying of course, that the overwhelming aim of this Department is to impart upon each child a fascination for the past and enjoyment of the subject!

David Morrison
Head of History