History at The Hermitage School is stimulating and engaging. Teachers consistently challenge pupils to think for themselves and draw their own conclusions from the evidence available to them. This means children are curious and ask questions about the past based on their historical knowledge.

Pupils’ sense of time is strengthened through exposure to artefacts, other primary and secondary sources of evidence and timelines. Teachers are enthusiastic and weave history throughout the curriculum, bringing the past to life with engaging first-hand experiences, such as visits, themed days and creative class-based projects. Strong links across the curriculum include English, ICT, Geography, DT and Art. Drama is also used as a vehicle to stimulate thinking, such as with the use of hot seating and role play.

Pupils learn about significant people, events and places from both recent and more distant past. They learn about change and continuity in their own area, in Britain and in other parts of the world. They look at history in a variety of ways, for example from political, economic, technological and scientific, social, religious, cultural or aesthetic perspectives. They use different sources of information to help them investigate the past both in depth and in overview, using dates and historical vocabulary to describe events, people and developments. They also learn that the past can be represented and interpreted in different ways.