Source and Cartoon Help...

I would like to start this post by saying how great mine and Mrs. Porritt's Year 10 group did in their mock exams-our group got a well deserved 52% A*-C, which is fantastic!

Now, I've just stumbled across a great website that has some very helpful tips and guidance on how to use sources and how to interpret cartoons. I strongly advise all GCSE History students to use this help as part of their revision, because being able to understand and use sources is a key skill that will need to be honed for the actual exam next year.

Year 9 War Art...

My Year 9 History group have just finished the First World War unit and ended it by creating their own pieces of war art.

Here are a few excellent examples:



By Frankie K 9EAr



By Hannah H 9EAr



By Sarah B 9JCo

Let me know what you think!

An amusing video about Joseph Lister

A rather amusing video about Lister and antiseptics!

Medicine Through Time-Surgery Video

A really useful video on surgery-including Simpson and Lister! Take a look and let me know what you think!

Edward Jenner-video re-cap!

A nice revision tool for you GCSE History students! Thanks to Doug Belshaw for allowing me to use this.

Year Nine Options Evening...

On Tuesday night Swanwick Hall had an options evening for all year 9 students. I was involved as part of the History department and it seemed to be a huge success! Don't forget-if you've got any questions about what we study at GCSE History just ask!

Some pics from the night:



Mr. Stowell and the History display!

Histatic Competition!

This is a first for Histatic-a quote competition!

I want to know what it means and who the people are that have been referred to.

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk; Martin walked so Obama could run; Obama is running so our children can fly"

The first Swanwick Hall student to get the correct answer will win a prize! Answers are to be posted on here.

Good luck!

Find out about your surname...

I've just stumbled across a surname location generator on the National Trust website that shows the distribution of any surname you type into it. The generator shows the distribution of names in the UK in 1881 and then in 1998, so that you can see the changes, if any.
I put in my maiden name of O'Connor first and in 1881 most O'Connors lived in Liverpool (where my family moved to during the Irish potato famine), and in 1998 the generator still showed that the majority of O'Connors live in Liverpool today.

Type in your surname and see what you discover!

Historical Twitter

Ever wondered what dead famous people might say? Well, Historical Twitter has the answer! Log in for a bit of a giggle and for quips that will make you smile-you might learn something too!

Let me know what you think...

You think we've got it bad...1947 was worse!

Having been given the day off school because of the harsh snowy conditions, I thought I would try to find the last really bad case of snow in this country-alas, it was the winter of 1947 (there was a particularly harsh winter in 1963 too).
For about 2 months, from January 1947 to March 1947, snow fell somewhere everyday in the UK. In some areas the amount of snowfall measured 150cm deep, many areas saw snowdrifts of more than 5m deep blocking the roads and railways, and in a few places supplies had to be flown in by helicopter because people were cut off completely! Take a look at some snaps from 1947:




Hopefully things will not get as bad this time in what some people are calling the 'Big Freeze'.


My Dickensian back yard! Love it!

Let me know how you're spending your snowy day!

Buy Cromwell's Death Mask-warts and all!

Do you fancy owning the death mask of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell? The above is for sale and could be yours for around £1000! The mask is about 350 years old and shows Cromwell in an exact light-just how he intended! Cromwell was not a fan of vanity in the slightest and insisted that all portraits, even after he expired, were done to show 'warts and all'.

Genocide under the Nazis Timeline

I have just come across an interactive timeline on the BBC History website called 'Genocide under the Nazis'. The interactive timeline charts the anti-Jewish and racist policies the Nazi regime introduced during their 12 year period in charge of Germany. The timeline "deliberately deprives you of the benefit of hindsight or a view of the future, ensuring you experience events in the sequence they happened to those who lived through them" (taken from BBC History).

Let me know what you think...

Laissez-Faire and the Victorians Quiz

I recently introduced the term 'Laissez-Faire' to my year 10 History group, who picked up the meaning of the phrase quite well during a recent lesson on public health during the 19th Century. The BBC History website has a great quiz you can do to remind you (for revision) about laissez-faire attitudes during the 1800s.

Remember-it is only a week and a half until you sit your year 10 exams so get revising!

Can You Handle History?