This course aims to answer the question: was life in the Middle Ages really that terrible? We will investigate what life was like for ordinary people as well as the wealthy, and assess how different it was from life today.
Students who enjoy reading, writing and learning about “really old stuff” should consider taking this course. The topics covered are flexible and can be changed according to students’ interests but could include: food, costumes for rich and poor, housing, castles, the Black Death, health and hygiene (or the lack of it), science, the lives of women, the importance of religion and strange superstitions. Students will select an area of interest to research and present.

This course is designed to be a stand-alone subject for students interested in the far past, but the thinking and research skills it teaches make it an excellent preparation for History in the senior school.