Our second annual Teesdale School History Lecture Series took place on Tuesday 6 February with students from across the north east visiting the school to hear from leading historians.
More than 150 students attended from schools in County Durham and Northumberland to hear a range of lectures from prominent university academics including Professor Jeremy Boulton and Dr Felix Shulz of Newcastle University and Professor Richard Rex of Cambridge University.
Professor Boulton spoke about venereal disease in the early modern period and helped students see the difficulty that medics had dealing with syphilis before the discovery of chemical compounds and antibiotics. His colleague, Dr Felix Schulz, taught students about the dangers of a mono-causal explanation of history in relation to the collapse of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's rise to power.
Dr Simon Henderson, our Head of History and Sixth Form, spoke about prejudice and paternalism that motivated U.S. government policy towards Native Americans. The event concluded with Professor Richard Rex of Cambridge University explaining how Elizabeth I's 'religious settlement' of 1559 was in fact anything but, and outlined how it left divisions that later led to civil conflict.
Dr Henderson said: "We are delighted that we attract such expert speakers to our school which demonstrates our commitment to providing the very best academic opportunities for students. This is the second year of our lecture series and we hope to continue it for many years to come."
Professor Rex stayed on after the event to speak with some sixth form students who intend to apply to either Oxford or Cambridge University in the future, following in the footsteps of previous students who have gone on to gain places at the UKs most prestigious universities.
The lectures were directed specifically at different aspects of students GCSE curriculum, with the event designed to launch the final revision process as their GCSE exams approach.