History
"History...a continuing and unending dialogue between the present and the past."
- E.H. Carr
Intent of our History curriculum
We intend to provide a high quality history curriculum which should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about Britain’s past and that of the wider world. Our teaching equips pupils with knowledge about the history of Britain and the wider world; learn about the lives of significant people of the past; understand the methods of historical enquiry and be able to ask and answer questions. We teach children to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. We want children to enjoy and develop a life-long love of learning about history by gaining this knowledge and skills.
National Curriculum
Curriculum maps
Knowledge and Skills Year One - Six
2025 -2026
Spring Term
Year 4 Ancient Egypt - Fitzwilliam Museum Trip
Year 4 had an amazing day at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge as an introduction to our history topic for this term. The pupils were so appreciative of the architecture of the building, noticing the ornate ceilings, that our guide took us on a detour to the stunning main entrance of the museum. There, the children marvelled at the carved pillars, mosaics and statues of Greek gods and goddesses. We then went to the Ancient Egyptian galleries where we learnt about Rameses III and explored a whole host of artefacts, including an actual mummy! Luckily for us, there is an extra exhibition about Ancient Egypt in the museum at the moment, so we were able to explore that too. The children were really engaged and behaved beautifully - we even received compliments from members of the public who were also visiting the museum!
After lunch, we spent time in the art studio and painted designs inspired by what we'd seen on papyrus. It was a fantastic start to our Ancient Egyptian history topic!
Autumn Term
Reception - Royal Mail through the years
Year 5 Ancient Greeks
Using oracy skills, the children worked in pairs to debate whether the Parthenon should be built. The gave their own reason and counter arguments to the opposing view.
Year 4 Anglo Saxons
Year 4 explored various photographs showing artefacts from the Anglo Saxon period of history to find evidence to prove a list of statements. They also used the books in the class library to further their knowledge.
Year 3 - Stone Age Celtic Harmony visit
Year 3 had a great day visiting Celtic Harmony as part of their Stone Age learning. During the day, they took part in a fire making demonstration, hunted animals, built dens, gathered food, made a Stone Age soup and listened to a Stone Age story.
Year 2 Mary Seacole
Year 1 - Fossils
As part of our history in Year 1, we have been learning about Mary Anninig the fossil hunter. We created our own fossils and then went fossil hunting becoming real life paleontologists. We had great fun digging up the fossils and even found some dinosaur eggs which we were able to crack open.
Year 1 - Dinosaurs
The children had a very immersive and exciting dinosaur explorer day.
The children started the day making dinosaur skeletons and then skin. In the afternoon the children hunted for dinosaurs and created footprints around the school.
Year 3 - Stone Age
As part of our learning about the Stone Age, the children explored how life changed when Stone Age people learnt to farm. They explored the concept of continuity and change and used their oracy skills to discuss their ideas with their groups.
Year 6 - World War Two
Year 6 enjoyed a wonderful World War Two Day. We had a visit from Kate at Stevenage Museum, who brought along artefacts for us to look at and even try on! The children used their detective skills and answered questions about what they were, what they were used for and who they belonged to. The children enjoyed dressing up as Nurses, Air Raid Wardens and Billeting Officers.
2024 - 2025
Summer Term 2025
Year 6 The Mayans
The children participated in an activity where an art gallery was set up in the Year 6 classroom and the children had to look at the images and infer what they could tell us about the Mayan civilisation.
Year 3 Visit to Roman Verulamium
Year 3 spent the morning at the Verulamium museum in St. Albans learning about the Romans. They had the opportunity to explore the artefacts in the museum and then took part in a workshop where they dressed as Romans and visited a market. Once back at school, the children created their own mosaic tiles.
Year 1 - The Queens of England
The children were looking for evidence within photographs to prove statements about the three queens true
Year 2- Mary Seacole
Year 5 - The Vikings
The children made their own assessments of events at the time that England was raided and settled by the Vikings. They made judgements about how big the threat of the Vikings having total control of the country was. They learned that their fortunes, along with those of the Anglo-Saxons, fluctuated.
Spring Term 2025
Year 3 Black History enquiry: How shall we tell the story of the first Black Britons in Britain?
The children watched a video clip which gave some information about Black Roman soldiers in Britain. The children were given the task to complete the final 45 seconds of the video detailing further evidence of Black people in Britain in Roman times. The children used different sources to gather information and then worked in a group to present their findings to the class using their oracy skills.
Year 1- Old and New Toys Museum workshop.
Year 1 investigated and played with old and new toys from Stevenage Museum.
Year 2 - The Great Fire of London visit from Stevenage Museum
Year 4 Trip to the Fitzwilliam Museum
Year 4 visited the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to start off their Egyptian topic. They were enthralled by all the wonderful exhibits and are looking forward to learning more about this fascinating period in our history lessons this term.
Autumn Term 2024
Year 2- The Plague
Year 4 - Anglo Saxons
The children were being history detectives - using a variety of source materials to uncover the rise of Christianity in Anglo Saxon Britain.
They looked a photographs of artefacts, including buildings and ruins that are still standing today, artwork and everyday items, as well as using our class library to find out more information.
Year 5 - Ancient Greece
The children role played as Athenian citizens to discuss and vote whether the Parthenon should be built. Athens was the inspiration for the democracy that we value in the UK today.
Year 3 Stone Age visit
Year 3 had a brilliant day at Celtic Harmony learning about the Stone Age. They learnt to hunt and gather, build shelters, watched how fire is made and listened to a fabulous story.
Year 6 World War Two
Year 6 had a visit from Kate, who works at Stevenage Museum. She brought a variety of WWII artefacts for us to look at. We used our detective skills to work out what the items were, who they belonged to and what their purpose was. It was an interesting and informative morning.
2023 - 2024
Summer Term 24
Year 6 - The Mayans
In history, the children researched what life was like for the Maya, focusing on where they lived, what they wore and how their society was organised. The children presented their facts in many creative ways!
Year 3 - Romans
Year 3 enjoyed a fabulous day learning about the Romans. In the morning, they visited Roman Verulamium museum in St.Albans and took part in a market themed workshop. They then had a tour of the museum and were able to look at the different artefacts. In the afternoon, they returned to school and created their own mosaics.
Year 5- The Vikings
Year 5 pupils, sorted clue cards to place the Viking era in historical context.
Spring Term 2024
Year 1 Knebworth Trip
Year 1 had a wonderful time at Knebworth House. The children visited the house. They found the secret room, wrote their names using the old alphabet, tried on Tudor clothing and saw the different rooms. In the afternoon the children had a great time in the maze and looked for specific foods and plants.
Year 6 Horrible History Workshop
Level 3 students, from Oaklands College Theatre in Education Tour, performed a Horrible Histories play based on the Ancient Greeks. The children then had the opportunity to participate in an acting or dance workshop themselves.
Tuesday 23rd January Year 4 Visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum - Ancient Egyptians
Year 4 had an amazing visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge on Tuesday. We spent time sketching patterns in the Armoury and Ceramic galleries in the morning. After lunch, we were met by our guide, Roseanna, who took us to the Ancient Egyptian galleries. We spent time discussing what we could see and tell from a large sculpture, which turned out to be a huge coffin lid! In the exhibition, we saw lots of interesting artefacts which will really help with our history learning.
Week beginning Thursday 4th January 2024 Year 1 LI: To investgate old and new toys.
Week commencing 1st January 2024
Year 2 were joined by Kate from Stevenage Museum to start the term with a workshop on the Great Fire of London. The children showed off an impressive knowledge of 17th Century England. She brought many artefacts for them to interact with and explore.
Autumn Term 2023
Year 5 The Ancient Greeks
After studying the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur in English, Year 5 thought about how much of it was true. They considered evidence such as artefacts, frescos and buildings.
Year 6 World War Two Workshop
Year 6 took part in a brilliant World War Two day in school led by Kate from Stevenage Museum.
All children experienced what life was like for those who were evacuated to the countryside. The children were given identity cards to fill in as well as learning about rationing of clothes and food.
The children then handled a range of WW2 artefacts where they asked questions about what they were, what they were used for and who they belonged to. The children enjoyed dressing up as Nurses, Air Raid Wardens and Billeting Officers.
Year 4 Anglo Saxons
We were using a variety of sources and artefacts to ask and answer questions about the Anglo Saxons.
Year 3 Stone Age - Visit to Celtic Harmony
Year 3 enjoyed a fantastic day at Celtic Harmony learning about the Stone Age. They saw fire created, heard a Stone Age story, hunted and gathered, prepared soup and built a shelter.
Year 3 Stone Age
Year 1 become paleontologists.
Year 6 Ancient Maya - Summer Term 2023
The children were detectives and had to deduce information from the art gallery set up in class, which contained images from the Mayan civilisation. The children had to investigate possible reasons why the Maya were a significant society worth studying in schools.
Year 3 Roman visit to St.Albans
Year 3 had a great day at St.Albans Cathedral learning about the Romans. They met a Roman soldier, learnt about the Romans in St.Albans and the story of St.Alban. They finished the day by creating their own Roman mosaics.
King Charles III Coronation home learning
Year 1 - Knebworth House Visit
Year 1 visited Knebworth House as part of their history topic this term. They were able to explore the house, wear clothes from the Tudor era and take part in outdoor games which would have been played in the past. The children had a wonderful time and learnt a lot about local history.
Year 2 - The Great Fire of London
In Spring 1, year 2 have been learning about The Great Fire of London. On Wednesday 8th February, year 2 spent the morning exploring different artefacts from Stevenage museum linked to the Great Fire of London. The children were able to compare houses, lighting and the fire service from 1666 to today. They also thought about what people may have saved from the fire and why they did this as well as learning what an eyewitness may have experienced during the fire. The children then went outside and recreated the fire of London by burning our model houses that we have made. The wind moved the fire from house to house just like it would have done in 1666.