Francis Walsingham - Elizabethan England - GCSE History Edexcel - Lesson 12- 2025/6 Spec

This lesson examines the role and importance of Francis Walsingham as Elizabeth’s Secretary of State. In particular, students look at Walsingham’s methods as Elizabeth’s ‘spymaster’ in uncovering Catholics plots against Elizabeth such as the Throckmorton and Babington Plots.

This lesson has been updated in line with the 2025/6 amended specification and changes to some exam questions.

The lesson pack includes:

• 1 x Fact Sheet - The role & importance of Francis Walsingham (PDF & PPT)
• 1 x Walsingham crossword
• 1 x Main 15 slide powerpoint lesson

The main power point includes:

• Slide 1: Title slide
• Slide 2-3: Recap about the Catholic plots & Mary, Queen of Scots
• Slide 4: Starter Activity
• Slide 5: Background information about Francis Walsingham
• Slide 6: Background information and link to video clip & questions
• Slide 7: Task 1: Answers to the Walsingham crossword (linked to the worksheet)
• Slide 8-9: Task 2 - Walsingham printable question sheet
• Slide 10: Background information about Walsingham’s methods
• Slide 11-12: Example exam questions
• Slide 13-14: Learning Recap - Walsingham’s Code Breaker activity with answers
• Slide 15: Lesson fact sheet

All images used in this lesson are in the public domain and are therefore copyright free. Images which require attribution have been attributed in the notes section of each slide where the image appears. If you feel any errors have been made, please contact me at raschoolresources@gmail.com in the first instance to resolve any issues. My lessons are completed using PowerPoint and designed on widescreen formatting. Thank you.

This resource is for personal use only and for copyright reasons should not be copied/amended for commercial use.