Department of History

The best reason for taking a history course is that the past fascinates you and you enjoy studying it. Studying History is fun. History combines the excitement of exploration and discovery with the sense of reward born of successfully confronting and making sense of complex and challenging problems. The purpose of historical inquiry is not simply to present facts but to search for an interpretation of the past. Historians attempt to find patterns and establish meaning through the study of evidence. One advantage of studying History is that it is a broad subject. Students can go on to university and then specialise in a range of subject areas, from the History of Art to transport history . History complements other subjects. It provides skills and understanding that will always be valuable in any career.

The study of History has a civilising influence on our society. It is the source of our political, social and ethical ideals. Hopefully students at Greenhead who study History will enjoy the fascination of people, patterns and change in the past.

History courses at Greenhead

The History department offers two main courses at AS and A-level, you can choose from either Modern or Medieval History.

Modern History covers both British and European history from c.1855 to 1918; topics include the causes and effects of the Great War, and the Russian revolution. British topics range from votes for women, liberal social reforms and the threat of civil war in Ireland.

Trips and visits

Trips and visits form an important part of History studies at Greenhead. This year medieval students will travel to the Loire Valley to visit the chateaux and cathedrals in the region, while modern history students will visit Ypres, the Somme and Berlin. Similar visits have taken place for the last four years and in addition all students take part in day trips to places of interest such as Fountains Abbey and York Castle and attend conferences to reinforce specific aspects of their courses.

What can I do with a History A-level?

David Nicholls, Head of History at Manchester Metropolitan University, suggests that, "with a History degree you can aspire to be Prime Minister, a press baron, overlord of the BBC, a famous lawyer, Archbishop of Canterbury, diplomat, Oxbridge vice-chancellor, famous comedian, business multimillionaire or celebrated pop musician".
His research into the careers of thousands of history graduates has shown a disproportionate number of high fliers." Not only do history graduates enter a wide range of careers, many rise to the top."
Historians holding political power include Gordon Brown, Alan Milburn and John Prescott. At least four historians have become bishops in the past ten years and in business, historians have swept the board. Among the company directors, chief executives and managing directors who studied history are Lord Sainsbury, Sir Roland Smith, chairman of Manchester United plc and Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop.
The research, backed by a National Teaching Fellowship award, will now look into the skills of historians at school and university to discover why, for instance, significant numbers of Cabinet ministers (six at present) and vice-chancellors are historians.

Jake Campbell: History at Greenhead was a great experience and I learned a great deal. The syllabus had great variety which made the course all the more interesting. My teacher was really enthusiastic and readily available if I had problems with the work. I have enjoyed History so much over these two years that I decided to apply to study it at university. My favourite part of the course was the ‘personal study’ in the A2 year where I was able to write a 3000-word essay on any historical topic that interested me. The whole department was very helpful and they were more than willing to lend books and give advice. The resources in the library enabled me to read around the subject and pursue my interests further.

Caroline Moors: I have greatly enjoyed studying history for the past two years at Greenhead- the teachers and the structure of the course have made the subject both fascinating and really good fun. In the first year, I found the module on Britain 1855-1918 extremely interesting as it involved looking in-depth into so many different aspects of British history- from the rise of the Labour Party, the influence of Trade Unions and Liberalism, to the Suffragettes and the Irish Question. In contrast, studying 100 years of Russian history in the second year was completely different as I was learning about the gradual development of Tsarism, the impact of the 1917 revolutions, Lenin and Stalin- things which I knew nothing about prior to studying A-level history. The course did require quite a lot of interest and hard work, but overall the subject and the way it is taught at Greenhead definitely made choosing to study history a worthwhile experience.

Hi Dr Thomson

I hope you remember me, I left Greenhead in 2002 and studied your medieval
history course which was fantastic - we all had a laugh in your lessons. I thought I would send you an email to update you on what I’ve been up to since leaving. I have just graduated with a 2:1 BSc Hons in Bioarchaeology from the University of Bradford which has been fantastic - I have learnt so much. I have applied as a masters student for the Osteology course at Sheffield and fingers crossed I will be starting in September. I have worked on excavation at Whithorn Priory in Scotland and had a month of digging in the rain - but it was fun. I found a prehistoric scraper! I have also been involved in working with skeletal remains, reboxing and sorting skeletons which was a challenge. Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and would recommend archaeology to any of your current students if they are unsure of what to do.
Gemma Gomersell
(Greenhead 2000-2002)

Dear Dr Thomson

I'm not sure whether you will remember me but I was a student of yours from 1999-2001, (if it helps you, I won the Jekyll and Hyde award on the history trip to France in 2000!)
Anyway I just wanted to let you know that I graduated last year with a 2.1 from York in history and after completing my PGCE I have secured my first teaching post. I will be teaching history at Farnley Park High School in Leeds from September. I wanted to also say thanks for furthering my love of history so much during my time at Greenhead. I quoted your enthusiasm for the subject as one of the reasons why I wanted to do the job at several interviews! And while I won't be teaching a great deal of it now, I am still a medievalist and didn't stray too far from this during my degree.(My dissertation was a study of medieval prostitution!)

I hope this e-mail finds you well and still smiling.
Best Wishes
Michelle Potkins