Hello and welcome to the History Department.
My name is Claire Holliss and I’m the Head of History at Reigate College. I’m looking forward to welcoming you to our vibrant History Department in person at the beginning of the academic year and getting you started on one of our History programmes.
As you know, we run two A Level History courses at Reigate (Early Modern and Modern). I’m going to be setting a series of activities for you to complete over the coming months which I hope will give you an introduction to the course topics; simply choose the tasks that relate to the History option you’ve chosen.
Many of you will have studied History at GCSE, but the A Level programme requires you to develop advanced skills to enable you to read, summarise and analyse information and draw your own conclusions. I hope you will enjoy the activities we’ve set, and I looking forward to discussing your findings when we meet in September.
The tasks are organised in three distinct steps and should all be completed by Choices Day on 27 August 2025. This is to give you the best insight into what the courses will be like and/or help prepare you for them.
Please note, some Course Leaders (for example for Music) may release their tasks earlier, as they may form part of the College’s audition process. If this applies to you, you’ll be notified separately.
New Starters Course Tasks and Activities
| Release date | Suggested Completion Dates | |
| Explore your Subject | 1 June | 1 July |
| Get Going | 1 June | 1 August |
| Aim High | 1 June | 1 September |
It is really important that you understand the difference between GCSE History and A Level, where you will be required to read and write far more extensively than you have done before. The volume and complexity of the work will be challenging to all. It is important that you get into the habit of reading in more depth than you will have been used to on the GCSE course in order to be successful at A Level. The following activities will give you a good indication of the demands of the work.
Please complete the tasks for EITHER Modern History A Level OR Early Modern History A Level.
Modern History A Level
The British Empire
The first activity to help you prepare for the start of your Modern History A Level course is based on the British Empire in India.
- Read this article about the British Empire in India.
- Write short answers to the following questions:
- How would you summarise Tharoor’s argument about the motivations behind British actions in India?
- What do you think might be some of the problems with looking at historical events as causes of ‘pride’ or ‘shame’?
Early Modern History A Level
The first activity to help you prepare for the start of your Early Modern History A Level course is based on Marie Antoinette.
- Read this article about the most infamous Queen of France, Marie Antoinette.
- Write short answers to the following questions:
- How was Marie Antoinette a victim of circumstance?
- Could she have done anything to save herself or her family?
To explore the topic further you could:
Find out more about the Palace of Versailles
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/marie-antoinette#a-queen-at-the-court
Listen to the following BBC podcast In our Time on Marie Antoinette https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000117y
Modern History A Level
Get Going
As you explore the Modern History A Level course and the topic of Empire, you will discover that the legacy of the British Empire is still very present in Britain today. One of the clearest examples of this is in objects and places; some which were constructed to promote the empire, used to support it, or in the case of many objects linked to the empire in British museums, seized from colonised countries and peoples and brought back to Britain.
Select at least two of the places or objects highlighted below. Use the resources indicated to explore the key questions raised about empire and take brief notes on your findings.
- India: The
Koh-i-Noor Diamond - London: The Crystal
Palace - Nigeria: The
Benin Bronzes - Australia: The
Gweagal Shield - Brighton: The
Pavilion in WWI
India: The Koh-i-Noor Diamond:
Key Questions:
1. How did the Koh-i-Noor diamond come to Britain?
2. What does this story tell you about the relationship between India and the British Empire?
3. What are the arguments for and against the return of the diamond?
Resources:
https://www.ft.com/content/0f17f436-5089-11e7-bfb8-997009366969
London: The Crystal Palace
Key Questions:
1. Why was the Crystal Palace built and what did it have to do with the empire?
2. How was the Great Exhibition used to promote the British Empire?
Resources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2004/07/27/history_feature.shtml
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Crystal-Palace-building-London
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/significant-events/great-exhibition-1851/
Nigeria: The Benin Bronzes
Key Questions:
1. What do the Bronzes tell you about Benin before it was colonized?
2. What does their seizure tell you about the British Empire in West Africa?
3. Why are they now being returned to Nigeria?
Resources:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Benin_art_Nov2015.pdf
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2003/sep/11/2
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/26/africa/africa-uk-benin-bronze-return-intl/index.html
Australia: The Gweagal Shield
Key Questions:
1. What is the story of the Gweagal Shield?
2. What does its story tell you about the British Empire in Australia?
3. Why is there a campaign for its return?
Resources:
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/the-gripping-story-of-the-gweagal-shield-20190511-p51mbe.html
Brighton: The Pavilion in WWI
Key Questions:
1. What was the Pavilion used for in WWI?
2. What does this tell you about the role played by Indian troops in WWI?
Resources:
https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/royalpavilion/history/short-history-of-the-royal-pavilion/
https://brightonmuseums.org.uk/discovery/history-stories/ww1-royal-pavilion/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26057597
http://www.eastsussexww1.org.uk/indian-soldiers-east-sussex/index.html
Early Modern History A Level
Get Going
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell is widely regarded as perhaps the outstanding servant of the crown in the 16th century. Not only did he manage the most difficult of men for a decade (i.e. Henry VIII), but he also presided over and helped organise an enormous series of changes of fundamental importance to the development of England. Cromwell left his mark in a number of different areas:
- He shaped the development not only of the
entire system of government, but also the way in which England was
administered, worshipped, paid its taxes and was counted. - He transformed the role of Parliament,
made Wales conform more to English ways and laws, broke down the traditional
independence of the North of England and started to look at ways in which trade
could be developed. - He also went a long way towards making
the crown financially independent from Parliament.
Cromwell was perhaps the only person the King regretted disposing of (he was executed on trumped up charges of treason by his enemies in 1540). Coming from a poor and comparatively low-class background, this was a remarkable achievement.
Cromwell rose to prominence through a mix of ability, hard work, skill at collecting offices and making himself indispensable. He also had the ability to implement his master’s will effectively. He proved able to tie up the many loose ends left by Henry VIII’s divorce and its implications.
Little is known about Cromwell’s early career, beyond the facts that he had some training as a lawyer, travelled widely and sat in the Parliament of 1523. He was a key aide to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey although he managed to distance himself sufficiently when his master fell, although he showed loyalty towards Wolsey when others had fled. By 1530 he was a member of the Privy Council and over the next two years rose from being just another royal servant to being a key minister. He made enemies of those who felt they were better suited to the task, such as Stephen Gardiner and Thomas Howard, who were to play a key role in his fall in 1540.
1. Research Activity
Using the following website, create a detailed timeline of Cromwell’s life. Highlight key events and characters (such as Anne Boleyn who you will learn about in the Tudor course).
https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/thomas-cromwell/#gs.5ho292
2. Historical Interpretations Activity
Was there a ‘revolution in government’ in England as a result of the work of Cromwell? Read the History interpretation case study and answer the following two questions using examples from the article:
- How was Cromwell able to bring about so many changes?
- Does the work of Thomas Cromwell in the 1530s merit the definition of ‘a revolution in government’?
3. Research Activity
Thomas Cromwell’s older sister Katharine had a son named Richard, who later served in Thomas’s household and changed his surname to Cromwell.
- Find out who Richard’s great-grandson was, and the impact he made on Britain.
A Level Modern History
As part of your Modern History course you will be studying the Cold War from its beginnings in 1945 right up until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. One of the key places in the Cold War was the city of Berlin. Berlin was split into communist East Germany and capitalist West Germany. In 1961 the Berlin Wall was built to divide the two halves of the city.
Here is a link to an article version of the story ‘Tunnel 29’ which follows a young East German student as he escapes from East to West Berlin and his decision to dig a tunnel beneath the wall in order to help others to escape too. His individual story reveals a lot about the larger forces of the Cold War and how they shaped people’s lives.
- Task: Read the article and write up your responses to the following questions:
What does this story tell you about the following things:
- The situation in East Berlin and why some people tried to escape?
- The situation in West Berlin and why some people there tried to help people escape?
- The operations of the Stasi (officers and prison system)?
- The role played by the USA (cultural institutions like NBC and political figures like President Kennedy)?
A Level Early Modern History
Key word: Iconoclasm: The deliberate act of breaking up statues and images.
During the Tudor era and the French Revolution iconoclasm occurred extensively. The statues and images were mainly religious, but an extreme example happened in France during the Reign of Terror when revolutionaries dug up the body of the French King Louis XIV (who had been dead for many years) and threw his corpse into a common grave.
Iconoclasm has made the news headlines very recently as you can see from the image above. This was taken during the Black Lives Matter Protest which occurred in Bristol on Saturday 6th June, 2020. Protesters were enraged by the continuing presence in the city of the statue of Edward Colston, a Bristol Merchant who made his wealth from the Atlantic slave trade (you may have covered this in Year 8 History). As you will discover from reading the BBC news article below, his name has been used extensively in the city; schools and concert halls are just some of the institutions that have been named after him.
- Read the article and then write a response to
the questions below.
Remember to give examples to back up your points.
PLEASE NOTE: This article was written in 2018 when the Colston statue was still in place.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-42404825
- What are the reasons why some people want
the statue of Edward Colston removed? - What are the reasons why others wish it
to remain? - What do you think should happen to the
Colston statue?
We will discuss these questions in your first History lesson – See you in September.
Head of History
