From the Romans through to the Conquest, and from the Medieval period through the Tudors and the Civil War, right up to the Industrial Age and the two World Wars and beyond, we provide a full programme delivered with expertise and a fresh, interactive and immersive approach. We want pupils to feel, see and smell the past, and to leave hungry to learn more.
It’s about getting out of the classroom and bringing history alive in new and exciting ways. We are proud that a large cross-section of schools attend from all over the country.
Generously supported by
Tuesday 26th June OR Thursday 28th June – Year 6, 7, 8 & 9
For our two days for ten to fourteen year-olds, we will offering a fully immersive and interactive programme of wide-ranging subjects from which teachers will be able to choose. Using expert historians and living historians together with a mass of genuine historical artefacts, pupils will be able to learn about day-to-day living and lifestyles, as well as warfare, crime and evolving technology, in a way that complements and expands the history curriculum.
Periods covered include: Romans, the Norman Conquest, Medieval, The Tudors/Shakespeare’s England, the Civil War, Industrial Revolution, First World War and Second World War. There will be encampments for each period. There will also be an immersive First World War trench experience, static aircraft from across the last century, as well as a WWII tank and artillery. Pupils will smell cookery from the past as well as the acrid smoke of black powder, and be able to touch and handle uniforms and clothing, weapons, and daily items of everyday life.
There will also be talks by the brilliant master story-teller, Christopher Lloyd and the History Tellers team, bringing strange and incredible stories from the past back to life with their unique blend of show and tell as well as demonstrations of the history of falconry.
Wednesday 27th June – Year 10 and 12
This day includes a range of immersive living history but also an incredible line-up of leading historians covering and expanding many of the principle GCSE and A-level history topics:
Prof Jeremy Black: THE CRUSADES
Dr Charlie Rozier: HENRY II AND THE ANGEVIN EMPIRE
Michael Ohajuru: JOHN BLANKE: THE BLACK TUDOR TRUMPETER
Ben Walsh: ELIZABETH I AND HER WORLD
Tracy Borman: THE WITCH CRAZE
Lindsey Fitzharris: THE BUTCHERING ART: A TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE
Bee Rowlatt: EQUALITY FOR WOMEN: FROM MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT TO THE SUFFRAGETTES AND BEYOND
Prof Robert Gerwarth: THE PARIS PEACE TREATIES, 1919-1923
Professor Ali Ansari: IRAN SINCE 1921: THE PAHLAVIS AND AFTER
Dr Alexandra Richie: WEIMAR AND NAZI GERMANY
James Holland: THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Dr Peter Caddick-Adams: THE COLD WAR
Prof Annette Gordon-Reed: AFRICAN-AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS
Prof David Cannadine: THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY
“The Chalke Valley History Festival for Schools gives students a fantastic and unique opportunity to engage with world-class historians in a way that we could never achieve in school. The speakers and topics are carefully chosen to meet the requirements of a number of GCSE and A Level courses which really engages and inspires students. One of the highlights of the festival for me has to be the reenactors who have such a wealth of knowledge and in-depth understanding of their eras, those with things that go bang are always a hit with the students!”
LIVING HISTORY
There will be a wide range of living historians covering some two thousand years of history Romans through to the two World Wars.
They will be demonstrating a number of activities from skills at arms through to historic cookery. Pupils will see and feel uniforms, learn about daily life from the past, traditional crafts and have a chance to see weapons in action and hear some bangs from Civil War muskets to British Second World War artillery ring.
For further information and booking please email schools@cvhf.org.uk or call 01722 780793.
Please note – no children will be allowed into the event site unless accompanied by an adult or within a school or college group; this means anyone under 16 years of age. There will be a clearly demarcated Lost Child Point in the Ticket & Information Tent.
