History Knights

Further Information

What ages are the clubs for?                                                                                  

Our main clubs are aimed at junior school children (KS2), but we also have clubs to complement the curriculum in  KS3 and KS4.  We can deliver history days for sixth form colleges and can offer lessons for home-schooled children, aged 5 to 16.

Is the history they learn accurate?
Yes.  Our tutors are highly trained to ensure they have deep knowledge and accuracy on the topics they are teaching.  Sometimes to appear fun, children's history programmes and books knowingly talk down to children and include misleading information presented as facts that aren’t true.  We think that is both dangerous and misleading.  History too often can be from the view point of being pro or against something.  We pride ourselves on examining facts and not trying to push an agenda.  You don’t need to warp or rewrite history to make it fun.  What’s not fun learning about a princess who led an army, exploring jungles surrounded by lions and gorillas, watching a spitfire fly overhead or learning how to put a man on the moon?

Do you offer other activities?
Yes we are happy to offer bespoke activities for schools and community groups.  We run half day and full day camps and can adapt our programme to meet your theme, topic or age group.  We can also support with GCSE learning or provide historical context for other subjects.  Amongst our Knights are trained actors who can deliver a fun range of assemblies, presentations and performances.  We can also provide curriculum-based lessons within school and for children home schooling or wishing to complement their formal learning.  We will also shortly be offering history themed birthday parties and activities you can hire for your events.

Do you need to be doing well in others subject to attend?
Children all develop at their own pace and our clubs have a range of activities that will ensure that whatever subject you may struggle with or enjoy in class, they will find something they love in their quest to be a History Knight.  In fact if if a child is struggling in class, History Knights could be the perfect way to inspire their learning.  Developing logical thinking and being able to place great literature or plays in their time period helps the reader understand what the author was writing about.  If you child should have any additional needs, please let us know how we can support them to thrive in our club.

What is Chronological Learning?

Often when learning history, people seem to leap back and forward in vast periods of time, missing out crucial years and sometimes whole centuries of development that are key to helping us understand what is happening.  You can't  read chapters of a novel in a random order and fully comprehend what's happening, yet, in history, that  is often how we are forced to learn.  On history days, it's brilliant to learn about and be inspired about different periods and places but, in our schools' programme, we feel its important to learn about events in the order in which they happened.  This enriches children's insights of what they are learning by giving them crucial context that deepens their understanding.  Without knowing crucial events that have happened in the months, years or centuries before an important moment in history, we can't possibly fully appreciate their causes and why they are important.  We believe that knowledge grows best when it is accumulative, with each lesson building upon the information and skills explored in the previous weeks.  We believe the most logical way to learn is by taking the children on a journey through the centuries. 

Is history just about key dates, wars and famous kings?

Our lessons are much more than just learning kings, queens and key dates.  We will look at important wars, battles and key events but we do so in the broader context of why they were important.  We learn about how parliament and our democracy developed, rebellions, revolutions, key scientific discoveries, and the split-second decisions that changed our world’s destiny.  Wars and revolts helped shape the times people were living in and what followed, but we don’t seek to glamourise war or convey a pacifist agenda; we explore the mistakes, tactics, characters and impact of the battles and rebellions.  At History Knights, we always make sure what we are studying remains age appropriate.  

Tell me about your safeguarding
At History Knights, we know how important it is to ensure everyone taking part remains safe.  All our staff are carefully vetted and have an up to date DBS check.  We have our own designated safety officer who has over 15 years' experience supporting and safeguarding vulnerable children.  All our History Knight tutors wear an id badge.  Before term starts, we ask that you send us a picture of the adult collecting the children (a mobile selfie is great) and our tutor will then release the children one at a time, having checked that they are being collected by the adult you have designated.  If the person collecting them needs to change on the day, we ask you to tell us in advance.  We will also ask the individual for a password that we will have agreed with you.

My child has a specific period they love -  can they learn about that?
Our tutors are constantly training and have a real love of history.  If your child asks a question about a different period of history and our tutor doesn't know the answer straight way, they will find out and be able to answer the following week.  Each term, we cover a specific era of history but we run numerous camps which will allow you to dip in and out of other periods, hopefully some of your favourites.  If we are not already including your favourite period, please email to ask us about it and we will try and respond.

I'd like a History Club at my school.  How do I arrange one?

All the key information on the club is on our website.  Speak to the teachers at your school and ask them to contact us.  You are also welcome to contact us directly.  It's helpful to talk to other parents and children to help encourage them to also speak to the school.  Once you've contacted us, we will arrange an assembly to promote the club to the children and hopefully book in to get started as soon as possible.  All of our clubs are able to conform to the school's policies, including any Covid health and safety guidance.