History

With five staff and approximately forty in each sixth-form year, History is one of Sherborne’s largest departments. We aim to produce successful (currently: 70%  A or B at A level, A* or A at GCSE), enthusiastic and enquiring students who can think and argue for themselves. History easily becomes fun here. The School, the town, Abbey and castles are a Historical theme-park. The magnificent School Library and Archives (including early manuscripts and newspapers) supplement the department’s excellent resources in books, CDs and videos. Every course incorporates Historical excursions, including an annual trip to Berlin or Prague. In the third form, we aim to combine diversity (teachers devise their own first-term course eg, local History, French Revolution, British Empire etc) with a depth-study of the First World War. Most boys choose our popular two-year GCSE, ‘twentieth century World History’. In the sixth form we offer, uniquely, four choices: Medieval, Early Modern, Nineteenth Century and, at IB, the Americas and the Cold War. The Junior History Society recently interviewed Old Shirburnians about their war memories and made a film about 1066. Lower Sixth Historians themselves give talks and debate in their ‘Hellfire Club’; the ‘History Boys’ discuss cross-syllabus themes; visiting specialists address the sixth-form ‘Green Ribbon Club’. We stage ‘interdisciplinary events’ with other departments and hold workshops with Sherborne Museum, Dorset  Record Office and with neighbouring schools.

Giles Reynolds MA
Head of History