The History Club at Blackheath High School - an independent school for girls - aims to focus on international history and is very much the girls’ club. Students are encouraged to find out about any area around the globe, at any time-period, that they have an interest in. We started off thinking about the history of the countries where people have come from, and some have taken an interest in pursuing this further. One student is looking into the history of Canada as her grandparents come from there and others have identified areas of interest such as Viking gods and doughnuts! On the last club of this term, the girls will share their stories with each other. 

History club draws attention to the global world in which we live. It is of course important to know and understand the history of Britain, but it is also important, and interesting, to appreciate the histories of other nations. Where possible, I include some language skills as it is important for historians to be able to read sources in the language they were produced. For example, on the anniversary of Che Guevara’s death, we looked at a brief history of his life in Spanish. This was quite a challenge for us all but the girls put their Latin skills to the test and together we successfully translated the text. 

I look forward to what ideas the girls come up with next term!