This collection of documents relating to the lives of the Victorians is aimed at any teacher or student engaged in a local study of the Victorian period. The sources could be used to help provide a sense of period and show pupils the type of sources they may encounter when looking at material in their local archive, museum or record office. The collection includes pictures, drawings, maps, photographs, advertisements, reports, census pages, letters etc.

The purpose of this document collection is to allow students and teachers to develop their own questions and lines of historical enquiry on Attlee’s Britain, 1945-1951. The documents themselves are arranged according to theme, so that sources are grouped together rather than following a strict chronological order. Some of the themes include: the economy; rationing; housing, the welfare state, the National Health Service, and the nationalisation of coal, railways and electricity.

This lesson treats the well-known story of evacuation from the perspectives of: - how people in the country perceived evacuees - how evacuees perceived the country The children from the city experienced a totally new way of life in the country. For the people in the country, too, having so many outsiders coming into their area was a major event. These sources will show what each side thought of the evacuation.

Despite ruling so long ago, Edgar’s reign is still visible in our lives today. It was during Edgar’s rule that England was divided into shires and hundreds for local governance. His coronation is the earliest to be described in detail and has formed the template for all coronations of English Royalty to this day. This lesson provides pupils with a glimpse of Anglo-Saxon society through one of the oldest documents looked after by The National Archives. The document is not part of our standard collection of royal and governmental documents preserved for administrative purposes, but was instead presented to us for safekeeping in 1868. This document is a charter, a formal statement of grant, making the recipient Ælfhere thane of a small area of what is now Devon. Pupils can examine the content of the charter to recognise the influence of the King and the Church over the land and its people. Pupils could research Anglo-Saxon life to discover what the land could be used for, in terms of farming and woodland crafts. Pupils can consider the rights of the King to use land he has granted to others for his own purposes as described in the Charter, and why this would be necessary during the Anglo-Saxon period.

This collection of documents introduces students and teachers to the English Reformation through the original State Papers held at The National Archives. They have been selected and introduced by historian of the period, Dr Natalie Mears of Durham University. Students and teachers can use the documents to develop their own questions and explore their own lines of historical enquiry on different aspects of the Reformation in England across the whole Tudor period, from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I. The document includes a fully linked index to all 40 documents within the collection, as well as the introduction and teachers notes.

A medieval revolution? The purpose of this document collection is to allow Key stage 5 students and their teachers to develop their own questions and lines of historical enquiry on Magna Carta and its legacy throughout the Middle Ages and beyond. The documents themselves are titled on the webpage so it is possible for teachers and pupils to detect different themes and concentrate on documents on similar topics if they wish. Some of the themes include: the relationship between the king and his barons; the relationship between Magna Carta, war and taxation; the intervention of the Pope; and the emergence of parliament as a fundamental part of political life.

This resource contains a hyperlinked list of National Archives current resources for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic histories on The National Archives website. It includes education resources, exhibitions, research guides, blog posts and podcasts by staff and external writers and links to external websites. The intention for this resource is to make it easier for teachers to find resources for teaching a diverse curriculum. We are committed to further improving our resources and continuing to increase the number or Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic histories told through our lessons and collections. This document will be updated periodically to add new resources that have been made available through our website. It was last updated in September 2023. In light of the debates around the term ‘Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic,’ and the acronym ‘BAME,’ it might be important to note that it is used primarily for its practicality. Indeed, our records highlight the shifting nature of language as it applies to ‘race’ and racism over time, often inspired by social justice struggles. They provide a broader historical context for the emergence of such terms, and how through ongoing discussions, they are likely to change again in the future.

In this lesson, students will investigate several sources which reflect some of the different attitudes towards vaccination in the Victorian period. Smallpox was a common killer in nineteenth century Britain. It spread rapidly and killed around 30% of those who contracted it and left many survivors blinded or scarred. In 1850s, the government passed a series of laws that made vaccination against smallpox compulsory. Some people and healthcare professionals supported vaccination while others objected to it. There were many reasons why people opposed vaccination: some claimed vaccination were unsafe, or unnecessary, whilst others argued that compulsory vaccination was government interference. The growing feeling for anti-vaccination reached full force in the 1890s with the National Anti-Vaccination League. The group organized protests and produced its own publications to distribute anti-vaccine propaganda. Ultimately, the voices of the anti-vaccination movement became too loud for the government to ignore and the government made it possible for people to opt-out of vaccination. Understanding the range of views regarding vaccination is critical for understanding the role of science in society. In addition, delving into this important, yet little known history of vaccination in Victorian society may give us insights into present day anti-vaccination movements. Connections to curriculum OCR GCSE: Unit: The People’s Health, c. 1250 to present Period: Industrial Britain, c. 1750-c. 1900; Public Health Reform in the nineteenth century. Excel GCSE: Option 11: Medicine in Britain, c. 1250-present and The British Sector of the Western Front, 1914-18: c.1700-c. 1900: Medicine in eighteenth and nineteenth-century Britain; new approaches to prevention: the development and use of vaccinations AQA GCSE: Thematic studies: Revolution in medicine; the role of public health reformers; local and national government involvement in public health.

An introduction, zip files and link to The National Archive's 45 document collection on Protest and Democracy in 1818-1820. (N.B. total ZIP file size: 195MB - individual sources can be viewed and saved via the link provided) The documents included primarily cover events at Peterloo, Manchester and during the Cato Street conspiracy in London. Some of the documents relate to: Henry Hunt female reformers yeomanry at Peterloo responses to Peterloo reading societies Cato Street plotters Cato Street preparations seditious songs These documents can be used to support any of the exam board specifications covering the political, social and cultural aspects of 20th century British history, for example: AQA History A level Breadth study: The impact of Industrialisation: Government and a changing society, 1812-1832 Edexcel History A level Paper 1: Breadth study with interpretations 1D: Britain c1785-c1870 democracy, protest and reform Paper 3: Aspects in depth: Protest, agitation and parliamentary reform in Britain, c1780-1928: unit: Radical reformers c1790-1819 Mass protest and Agitation OCR History A level Unit Y110: From Pitt to Peel 1783-1853 British Period Study: British Government in the Age of Revolution 1783-1832

The purpose of this document collection is to allow students and teachers to develop their own questions and lines of historical enquiry on the Cold War. Students could work with a group of sources or single source on a certain aspect. Teachers may wish to use the collection to develop their own resources or encourage students to ‘curate’ their own ‘exhibition’ of the most significant sources on the topic. Another idea would be to challenge students to use the documents to substantiate or dispute points made in the introduction with this collection. We hope that the documents will offer students a chance to develop their powers of evaluation and analysis and enrich their understanding of this topic. Alternatively, teachers could use the National Archives Education Service’s Cold War website alongside this collection for specific questions or activities connected to these documents.

Victorians for Sale! Has advertising changed from Victorian times? This collection of Victorian advertisements is aimed at any teacher or student engaged in a local study of the Victorian period. The sources could be used to help provide a sense of period and show pupils the type of source material they might find in their local archive, museum or record office. The collection could be used alongside the Victorian lives collection on this website to give further insight into the Victorian home life.

This lesson encourages students to think about what life was like for a child being cared for by the Foundling Hospital, by looking at original sources held at The National Archives. The Hospital was founded during a time of great social and political change, during which it became desirable for the wealthy and influential to be seen as philanthropic.

Was appearance everything for a ruler in the 16th century? Henry VIII used symbols and images to display royal power. In this exciting session, pupils work with original documents from Henry’s reign to investigate how he was portrayed as a great monarch. This workshop supports schools focusing on a thematic study in British history (beyond 1066). Book Image of a King now

Did people take Magna Carta seriously? In 1225, Henry II proclaimed that the legal rights granted in his latest version of Magna Carta would be ‘held in our kingdom of England forever.’ Students work with a range of documents to consider the lasting impact of the Charter in medieval England. This workshop supports schools studying the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509. Book Magna Carta now

This resource contains a hyperlinked list of National Archives current resources for Women’s histories on The National Archives website. It includes education resources, online exhibitions, research guides, blog posts and podcasts by staff and external writers and links to external websites. The intention for this resource is to make it easier for teachers to find resources for teaching a diverse curriculum. We are committed to further improving our resources and continuing to increase the women’s histories told through our education resources and collections. Women can be found throughout our collections, but their narratives are often harder to find. As this resource shows we are working to reclaim the voices of women and address these historical imbalances, to represent an inclusive history of everyone in the resources we now develop.

The National Archives has created some resources for you to use in your classroom with our video to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. The film tells the story of Elizabeth II’s 70 years as Queen using genuine historical sources from The National Archives and The Royal Collections. It includes music and some original footage from the period. Pupils take a historical journey through the decades, from the 1950s to 2020s. We hope that the commentary and documents will encourage your pupils to explore the past and ask questions about how the Queen’s role has changed and life in Britain altered over time.

The five videos in this series called ‘Civil War People’ have been updated to a greater quality from our focussed topic website English Civil War. View our videos to find out how a Bishop, Puritan, Scotsman, Irishman or King Charles I himself possibly viewed the prospect of civil war in 1642. Their words help to provide information which supports the document activities. Look at the videos first! Then, explore a specific linked document activity for each character. Try and read the original document. Each document is provided with background information, questions, a transcript and a simplified transcript to help. Please note that the document used in each activity can also be seen in the topic website English Civil War alongside other documents so you can expand your studies!

Writing War, Writing Peace is a creative writing anthology written by students who spent a week at The National Archives, learning from our records about the experiences of Nurses in the First World War. Mentored by Melvin Burgess and Sara Robinson, the students were encouraged to explore service records, diaries and photographs to put together their own creative pieces inspired by real events. These stories and poems are the result.

Holding History is a stop motion animated film created by students during a week-long workshop at The National Archives. The film was designed to highlight key historical stories from within our collection and covers a variety of time periods and themes. Many thanks to the Friends of The National Archives for their support on this project. When making the film, students were asked to consider: What is The National Archives? How has it changed and developed over the centuries? And what are the challenges, threats and importance of an archive in today’s world? Each student was then given a specific story to research within our records before they could storyboard, design, create and capture their stop motion sets. These finished film clips can now be used by teachers and students as brief overviews, introductions or interest points for the various topics explored within the film. These accompanying questions are designed to work alongside the film clip, to guide students in thinking about what they have learned from the clip or from their lessons and previous knowledge. Some questions can be answered from the film itself, others are intended to be answered after class discussion or independent thought. The clips can also work as a model for student’s creative exploration of history, allowing students to see what can be done to tell stories from history and inspire their own creative work – either through animation, drawing, storytelling or other creative exploits.

How typical was Albert Edwin Rippington’s experience of war? ‘…if you ever meet a chap that says he wants to go back call him a liar’. These are words penned by Albert Edwin Rippington, an employee of the Audit Office for the Great Western Railway. Albert, along with many of his colleagues, had enlisted to fight in the First World War. He was wounded in action and wrote about his experiences from his hospital bed back in England. Albert was clearly deeply affected by his time in the trenches, but how typical was his experience? Exploring a range of letters written by soldiers who enlisted from the Great Western Railway to fight, students will investigate these men’s experiences of war; the conditions in the trenches and in reserve, and the impact that these experiences had on their morale and health of these men. Book From the Front now