Researching the past
One of the advantages of being situated in London is the access our pupils have to the many facilities the city has to offer. From galleries to museums, from theatres to sports venues, London affords our pupils opportunities which are second to none. Last week Priory 6 availed themselves of a treasure trove of resources in nearby Kew. Here, Mr Murphy takes up the story:
‘On Thursday 23rd November Priory 6 historians spent a day at the National Archives in Kew. The National Archives is the official archive and publisher for the UK Government and for England and Wales. It is the guardian of over 1,000 years of iconic national documents including the Doomsday Book and the wills of Henry VIII and Shakespeare; it contains over 11 million documents.
On our visit, we had a tour of the Archives and then participated in a workshop related to our Irish History A Level course. We examined original documents from the 1916 Irish Easter Rising; it was fascinating to read original letters, newspapers and Top Secret files from the period.
We were given instruction in how to handle 100 years old documents as well as how to interpret and draw inferences from the material. We all received our Readers’ tickets which allow us to visit the archives at any time and request original documents to examine. The National Archives is a great place to visit; there are regular exhibitions and talks. For more information, go to: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ ‘
Categories: Sixth Form Whole School