Author Archives: Mr Kydd

History uptake continues to decline…

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Mr Kydd

At this time every year there is a conversation in the media about grade inflation and “hard” V “soft” subjects. In truth it is a more complex topic than some would have us believe. However one fact shines through – … Continue reading →

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Informed decision please Year Thirteen

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Mr Kydd

First off congratulations on a cracking set of AS results. They are a tribute to all your hard work and hours of revision. It is course the nature of examinations that some of you will want to target a re-sit in the January … Continue reading →

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Is everything I ever taught you wrong ?

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Mr Kydd

Those of you that had the misfortune to be taught by me in Year Seven will of course remember that it was the Romans who brought urban living to Britain. Well it seems, perhaps not for the first time, I … Continue reading →

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Historians and the riots.

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Mr Kydd

All of us will of course have been aware of the awful rioting in early August, and many of us will have heard (about) David Starkey’s comments on Newsnight. If not, or if you want to hear the discussion Verbatim then this BBC … Continue reading →

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“Earliest” Map of Britain made available as an interactive website

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Mr Kydd

This is the earliest surviving map of Britain – the Gough Map. It dates from the 1370s, and was revised in the early Fourteenth Century. The BBc article linked below comments, “drawn on two pieces of sheepskin, the 115 x … Continue reading →

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Beyond the Blitz: 70 stories for 70 years

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Mr Kydd

A bit of oral history for you this time. To mark the seventieth anniversary of the Blitz of Coventry the BBC recorded 70 stories from 70 survivors. You can access them through the interactive website on the link below. It is … Continue reading →

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Why Study History ?

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Mr Kydd

The link below is very well written. It is from the History department of Hanover College, Indiana. It is a brief article on some of the reasons for studying undergraduate History. At the bottom of the page are links to … Continue reading →

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Computer recreation suggest that the magic bullet could work…

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Mr Kydd

Something a bit different this time. If you cast your minds back to the enquiry work that we did on the Kennedy assassination in Year Nine then you might remember the problem of the magic bullet (see the attached image). … Continue reading →

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The hero with the shovel…

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Mr Kydd

Something a bit more recent. The young man shown in the thumbnail on the left is Frederick Potts. He holds the very special distinction of being the only person in the history of Reading to be awarded the Victoria Cross … Continue reading →

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The Staffordshire Hoard

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Mr Kydd

I promise that this will not become an archaeology site. However the past couple of years have seen some very special finds in Britain. The zoomorphic mount shown left is part of the famed Staffordshire hoard, but the links below … Continue reading →

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