History topics in the news
Using the Maya topic to look at changing interpretations
One of the hardest ideas to teach young children is that history is a construct and liable to changing interpretations. Many really dislike the fuzziness of not knowing for sure….
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Reaction to new curriculum review – November 2025
In the Times today, 6 November, Michael Gove the architect of the existing National Curriculum, predictably weighed in with a blistering condemnation of Briget Philipson’s planned reforms. Curiously he left…
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Henry and Katherine of Aragon: a love story less well told?
A recent find in a field in Warwickshire is to be sold and the hope is that the British Museum will be successful in their bid. Not only is this…
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The mystery of why the pyramids were built in the desert is finally solved
Many of you teaching Ancient Egypt in depth as part of a broader topic on ancient civilizations will , no doubt, have spent some time exploring Egypt’s iconic pyramids. You…
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Teaching Olympic games in 2024
Are you planning to teach about the Olympic games which are coming to Paris in July 2024? If so you might like to look at the following materials and lessons…
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The Blitz 80 years on
On the night of 14 November 1940, 80 years ago, one of the most infamous aerial attacks of all time occurred when a Luftwaffe air raid devastated the city of…
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Spectacular Bronze Age finds
Article: BBC Detectorist ‘shaking with happiness’ after Bronze Age find Among the items found this week in Peebles in Scotland were a complete horse harness, preserved by the soil, and…
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Wizards and scientists:changing views of Stonehenge. History as interpretations and a constant conversation between past and present
One of the harder parts of teaching history at Ks2 is to explain to pupils that history is a construct, and one that changes not only with new discoveries but…
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Is this another find to help us understand Stonehenge?
Yesterday’s more interesting news centred on a newly-published report on the finds at Durrington Wells on Salisbury Plain. As the place where the builders of Stonehenge lived and feasted, Durrington…
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Florence Nightingale and her legacy – 200 years since her birth, on 12 May 1820
Historians have praised Florence Nightingale on the 200th anniversary of her birth, and said her legacy has “never been more relevant” amid the coronavirus pandemic. Staff at the Florence Nightingale…
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Remembering VE Day
In these difficult times when schools are not in session it will not be possible to commemorate the ending of the Second World War with our primary-age children in the…
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Teaching about Roman villas at KS2- some new finds in Gloucestershire. Should the housing development now go ahead – arguments for and against?
Those of you teaching about Roman villas at KS2, maybe even using the outstanding lesson on this website, Is this another Roman Villa ( KQ4 part 2), will be interested…
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80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War Two
On 3 September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany after Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland. It was the start of the largest and bloodiest war in history –…
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Anniversary of the start of the Great Fire.
On this anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Fire, take a look at the outstanding lesson which explores why the fire began. It has a whole range of exciting…
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Widespread ignorance of the Holocaust still shocks
Five per cent of UK adults do not believe the Holocaust took place and one in 12 believes its scale has been exaggerated, a survey has found. The poll of more…
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Elizabeth I: awful weather
As reported in The Times, yesterday marked the Coronation of Elizabeth I, 460 years ago. It was cold and wet in London on January 15, 1559, with flurries of snow,…
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Powerful personal memories of Remembrance Day
As we all remembered the fallen yesterday, I had particular reason to think of family loss. In the Great War no less than 8 sons from my great-grandfather’s family of…
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Has Mary Beard got it right about TV history?
Mary Beard has sparked controversy yet again , this time about the way history is portrayed on TV. Too many actors swanning around in sheets. Too much focus on the…
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Commemorating centenary of ending of World War One: Using fiction to teach about remembrance at KS1 and 2
Fiction provides opportunities for children to explore what life might have been like for people living during the war and, as Megan Brownrigg from Strauss House Productions suggests, may help…
Read More£2.2. million to be spent on time-saving curriculum materials in hist, geog and science
Sounds great doesn’t it. Even better when you realise that the money is to fund school-based initiatives rather than top-down material generated by DfE. (Remember the QCA schemes of work-God…
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Spanish Armada: 430th anniversary- great lessons to enjoy for KS2 and 3
Those of you teaching the Spanish Armada at KS2 or 3, will know that today is the 430th anniversary of the decisive battle of Gravelines. You may not know that…
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Trump’s woeful ignorance of own country’s Cold War history
I know we shouldn’t be surprised when Trump commits another faux pas, but I can’t help admitting that my hackles rose particularly high this afternoon when I heard him claim…
Read MoreWritten by Neil Thompson
All content on Keystage history is written and quality assured by Neil Thompson, a former history teacher, county history adviser and Ofsted inspector with more than 30 years’ experience in history education.