What is History? Edexcel’s History Advanced Extension Award

In 1930, Walter Sellar and Robert Yeatman published 1066 And all that, a witty satire on the state of historical scholarship and the content of history learnt in schools in Britain between the wars. They claimed to present ‘a memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings and 2 Genuine Dates’. Although current examination boards require students to learn both historical skills and historical knowledge, there is no doubt that, for most sixth-formers, memory work – learning what the teacher tells you, precisely defined by examination specifications – does play a significant role in their experience of Advanced Level History.