The study of History informs pupils’ understanding and appreciation of the world as it is today, and their place in it.

It helps pupils develop the essential skills of analysis, evaluation and research, with which to construct coherent, fluent answers to challenging questions and theories.

Teaching

As a department, we are keen to encourage discussion and debate, and to get pupils to engage with history in their daily lives.

We have a flourishing History Society, which often hosts talks by external speakers, and a History Department Twitter feed (@cliftonhistory), which provides pupils with links to interesting and stimulating material.

Why Study at Clifton College?

History plays a large part in life at Clifton College. As a public boarding school, we celebrated our 150th year in 2012. As an institution, our history intertwines with many major events of the past century and a half. As pupils walk to lessons each day, they pass by the statue of Field Marshal Douglas Haig, once a pupil at Clifton College and later the British Commander on the Western Front.

As part of the curriculum, Year 9 groups make weekly visits to the City Museum to complete a research activity, and our annual trip to the battlefields of the First World War has become a rite of passage for many pupils in Years 9 and 10. GCSE pupils have the opportunity to visit Berlin to deepen their understanding of the Cold War.