History is fundamentally interesting. It is not only the story of human accomplishment and conflict, but the story of how we have told our stories. It is important to know how we have come to be where we are, why the world – and closer to home, your society – is as it is, and the origins of stories, values and legends that we are told make us who we are – and to question them.

Read as widely as you can. We have time in class for only the bare bones of any topic. Any night there is no ‘set’ homework, read other sources for information about what we have covered in class. Note anything that is new, or different, or interesting. Use quality webpages, but also make use of the school library, and even public and university libraries if you live near them (and especially if you have borrowing access).