Learning From the Past, Influencing the Present

As a school with a long history of its own, people and events in the Past are always important to us. Whether roleplaying the Anglo-Saxon invasions of England or designing the great city of Baghdad for the Caliph, children at the Junior School get new perspectives on today’s World through working as historians.

In a recent topic on the Abbasid Empire, Year 6 children used their knowledge of the beliefs and practices of Islam today to draw inferences about motivations in the Past. They examined artefacts, roleplayed trade on the Silk Road and used their knowledge to design the perfect capital for the growing empire. 

Underlying the events, personalities and dates were some very deep questions about empires and states. Our discussion of the spread of the Islamic Empire led to debate about the rights and wrongs of conquest by force and the role of propaganda in winning new allies, truly topical ideas that helped the children reflect on events in the daily news right now.