History

Our principal aims are to encourage a love of history and a respect for truth.  

Historically, one of the School’s functions has been, as many parents have recognised and expected, to integrate the pupils into the wider traditions of British public life. Since J. R. Seeley taught here, this function, political in its widest sense, has been a feature of history teaching at CLS. What it means to be a British citizen, how the parts of the British Isles are related to each other and to the continent of Europe are matters of great moment to everyone in our society, and are directly addressed in our history syllabuses. History is part of the core curriculum up to and including the Third Form: in these years the course covers medieval and early modern topics, with the object of stimulating interest and introducing the pupils to simple documentary study. Most continue with the subject in the Fourth and Fifth Forms, where we follow the CIE IGCSE course. The focus here is on international relations in the twentieth-century, the USA between the wars, Nazi Germany and Mao’s China. 

The AS course is an exciting one and deals with themes such as revolution, the emergence of mass politics and the international state system. Students investigate the origins of the French Revolution and the course it took. As part of looking at the economic, political and social causes of the upheaval students are encouraged to explore the Enlightenment and the work of philosophers such as Voltaire and Rousseau. We also study domestic politics in the mid-nineteenth century – a period in which Britain was a world superpower, industrialization and the growth of cities were transforming the lives and the standard of living of the people, and when the new press and party leaders, such as Gladstone and Disraeli, were making politics a mass activity. Both the European and British elements provide plenty of scope for considering conflicting interpretation and wider historical questions such as the importance of individuals as agents of change.

At A2, revolution, war, conflict and ideology are the major themes. We study the nature of Russian government and its impact on the Russian people and society. In particular students explore the similarities and differences between the autocratic rule of the tsars to 1917 and the subsequent Communist dictators, including Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev. Coursework deals with the emergence and development of the Cold War to 1956.

The department, with assistance from the boys, runs a thriving Historical Society. We run three foreign trips a year: First Form to Normandy; Third Form to Ypres and the Somme and Fifth Form to Berlin. Details can be found by clicking here.