Highfields’ History department has relaunched two of its most popular extra-curricular clubs for students.
The History Book Club, which is available to all students in Years 7-11, and the Sixth Form History Scholarship Programme, open to all A Level Historians and any Sixth Form student with a wider interest in History are now back up and running.
Both clubs promote student engagement with reading, whether that be historical fiction or the work of the historian through academic scholarship.
Head of History, Miss J Tappenden, said: “Life in school may look slightly different this academic year, but the History Department are determined not to let anything get in the way of providing their usual offerings to students.
"After a busy first half term settling into new routines and finding our feet in the classroom again, we are delighted to be relaunching two of its most popular extra-curricular clubs
“We have placed reading and the use of historical scholarship at the very heart of our History curriculum. We want our students to understand that history is seen through the eyes of those who wrote it, and that reading around their subject and taking in as many different perspectives as possible deepens their understanding of historical events and history as an academic discipline.
“Our curriculum is under constant review and construction. I believe that a great curriculum is never completely finished; it will always develop and broaden, as does historical knowledge and scholarship.
“We want our students to understand that as well as being their teachers, we too are learners and historians, and that’s where the concepts for both History Book Club and the Sixth Form History Scholarship Programme came from. We wanted our students to be able to work with us and develop alongside us by engaging with reading.”
For the first time ever, both clubs will focus on the work of the same Historian at the same time.
As October was Black History Month, the clubs were launched with the work of British Historian David Olusoga, who has dedicated so much of his work to telling the stories of people of colour, where they have been previously misrepresented or left out entirely from history.
Miss Tappended added: “We hope that this will send a powerful message to all of our students; that Black History is British History and therefore holds a significant place within our inclusive curriculum, to be learned and celebrated well beyond the passing of October each year.
Both clubs launched on Monday 2nd November - The Sixth Form History Scholarship Programme with ‘Black and British – A Forgotten History’, and History Book Club with ‘Black and British – a short, essential history’, the latter being the latest publication from Olusoga to make his work more accessible to a younger audience.
Both clubs were highly successful last academic year, and are being run on Microsoft Teams this year to ensure their safe return.
Students are able to engage with each other and the staff using the chat forum to discuss their reading, and live meetings will be scheduled on occasion so that all involved can discuss what they have taken from the books so far.
Students from Years 7-11 who wish to be involved in History Book Club should email Miss Tappenden (jtappenden@hswv.co.uk), whilst Sixth Form students wishing to participate in the History Scholarship programme should email Miss Harrison (kharrison@hswv.co.uk)
