History Reading Groups

This course aims to give both an overview of world history for this time period, and a particular focus on Anglo-Saxon life in the British Isles. There will be a selection of original source documents to study in translation as the children learn about the differences between primary and secondary sources (including the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the Magna Carta, writing by King Alfred, and Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People). We will also take time to explore examples of European art and architecture, as well as the development of the English language and culture. Each new topic will be explained in class, and the course is well structured to allow for paper-based rather than screen-based learning!

Homework is expected to take two hours. There is no submitted written work. Students will be encouraged and given guidance on keeping an excellent history notebook at home that covers the reading material. Skylarks will produce corresponding note sheets that will be freely available to students on the course to print out for written narrations. Recommendations of wider reading and suggestions of optional activities (including crafts, baking and creative narrations), will be shared for those who are interested in a more hands-on approach to learning.

We will explore the people, events and philosophies of the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, from the time of the Tudor dynasty to the end of the English Republic. We will begin by considering why European politics prompted the Armada and how searching for an ideal trade route led to exciting discoveries for both science and geography. There will be an opportunity to grapple with the theology and follow the developments in art that have a key role in our understanding of how people lived. As well as broadening our horizons on world history, we will take a close look at the English Civil War and how actions then have shaped our monarchy and government today.

Complementing their reading of the core texts, children will benefit from guided study of a range of primary sources so that they can learn to confidently engage with the original texts (albeit sometimes in translation!). This includes excerpts from Luther, Calvin, Henry VIII, Machiavelli, Elizabeth I, the Council of Trent and Oliver Cromwell. Alongside this European detail, a range of research projects will allow the class to explore topics relating to events, leaders and politics across the globe. In keeping with the Skylarks philosophy regarding the primacy of good books, the research projects are designed so that they can be completed offline if preferred.

Homework is expected to take 2 ½ hours. There is no submitted written work. Students will be encouraged and given guidance on keeping a comprehensive history notebook at home. Skylarks will provide weekly note sheets for students to print out for written work (or refer to as topic ideas for their own notebooks). These will include ideas for creative narrations too. Recommendations of wider reading and suggestions of optional activities (including handicrafts, recipes and historical fiction books), will also be shared for those who are interested in delving a little deeper into the time period.

This course will take a deep dive into a turbulent and dramatic period of history that paved the way for the formation of modern Europe. We will study the French Revolution and its extraordinary global effects, as well as examining the root causes and finding out about the people involved. Many of the primary sources will be reasoning from different perspectives, and the children will be encouraged to actively engage with the arguments through a series of class debates. 

Our second major area for study focuses on developments over the Atlantic as we explore how America became a new nation. We will look at the nature and impact of tensions between large and small states, and the clash over slavery. Students will learn how America faced the challenges of division and expansion, from establishing the Bill of Rights to the California Gold Rush. There will be an option to give class presentations and speeches about some of the major issues. 

We will also explore scientific and technological advances that followed the Enlightenment on a global scale; students will have plenty of opportunity to consider how the philosophies of the period also shaped questions of morality and faith. Politics, theology, art and geography will all have a role in discussion as we read about the key events and beliefs.

As with the earlier history groups, there will be an emphasis on primary source research and developing independent study skills. Age of Revolution covers the first half of the teaching material for a History IGCSE (see Qualifications). Homework will take approximately 2 ½  hours each week (there is no submitted written work).

We will begin the course by focusing on Victorian Britain, with a particular interest in exploring the prevalent worldviews, scientific developments and social reforms. Students will share in lively debates about foundational issues such as education, politics and industrialization. We will also look at the implications of colonialism and see how this continues to impact international relations today. We will then investigate how Italy became a unified nation in the nineteenth century and see how various national endeavours intertwined to shape the continent of modern Europe. 

The course reading continues to follow the American story from Age of Revolution in order to see how major events and worldviews affected both sides of the Atlantic. This will allow the students to spot patterns in decisions and expectations at the turn of the 20th century that played a major role in the build up to the First World War. Our study of the war will encompass social as well as political angles to provide a thorough grounding in the origins and course of World War One. 

In line with earlier history groups, there will be an emphasis on primary source research and developing independent study skills. The World Reshaped also covers the second half of the teaching material for a History IGCSE (see Qualifications).