tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40805960993272706762012-02-12T23:02:25.957ZThe History Blog for Sutton Grammar School. Updated occasionally with material both relevant to the different SGS History exam courses (GCSE and A-level), and some broader historical observations. After all, where there's history, there's life (and so on, inserting cliche where appropriate).GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.comBlogger471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-82321598943044176362011-01-24T23:55:00.001Z2011-01-24T23:57:18.716Z

Hollywood is in love with the British monarchy again. The King’s Speech is the surprise Oscar nominee that seems to be sweeping all before it with a heart-warming tale of a reluctant king over-coming his stammer to lead his country in defiance against one of the twentieth century’s worst monsters. There’s even a cameo for Britain’s Greatest Ever Prime Minister, as he offers sage advice to

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-25448452393214516882010-05-26T10:52:00.003Z2010-05-26T10:55:15.929Z

Interesting and helpful article - especially for A2 students - on the transformative nature of the US Civil War in this month's 'History Today'. Tracing its origins back to Waterloo, and its impact forward to the industrial wars of the twentieth century, it is well worth a read.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-62489229725796563552010-05-13T07:28:00.003Z2010-05-13T07:29:44.268Z

Two introductory videos on Vietnam from youtube have now been added to the 'History on Youtube' link bar at the left. They cover the initial US involvement, and then carry links to further episodes in the series.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-15756134195523398082010-05-03T13:49:00.001Z2010-05-03T13:50:41.143Z

There is a new web page with links to a number of the powerpoint presentations used in lessons. These are mainly China powerpoints for the AS students, although a couple of A2 warfare powerpoint are there as well, with more to be added.We will also try and tidy up this blog to make it more helpful for students.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-25894061674417646672010-03-01T11:08:00.002Z2010-03-01T11:09:08.666Z

This is part of a BBC documentary on the fateful Sarajevo assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-60972129685675770092010-03-01T11:00:00.001Z2010-03-01T11:02:22.601Z

The classic explanation for the origins of World War 1 as related by Blackadder to Baldrick.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-55957520163435089552009-11-11T08:54:00.001Z2009-11-11T08:56:09.196Z

Russia 1906-141. Assess the impact of the economic (Stolypin, Industrialisation), social (church, education etc) and political (Duma, policies towards opposition) reforms that took place between 1906-14.P146-165 in text books and handouts2. In what ways did Russia progress as a society between 1906-14?3. How stable was Tsarist Russia on the eve of WW1? More or less stable than in 1905?To be

S Shergoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553367030187012535noreply@blogger.com79tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-83399568301838159392009-11-03T07:24:00.002Z2009-11-03T07:26:54.833Z

Answer the following questions in full1/ How did Chiang Kai-shek attempt to consolidate power after the White Terror of 1927?2/ What was the new Life Movement?3/ How did the Communists recover after the disaster of 1927? How important was Mao in this?

S Shergoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553367030187012535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-38838441618374112592009-10-12T13:58:00.003Z2009-10-12T14:00:32.203Z

Stolypin's Reforms 1905-19111. What types of reforms was Stolypin trying to implement in this period?2. What were his motivations in trying to achieve these reforms?3. How successful was he in implementing them? Why?These questions, along with the Duma questions, form the background info to attempt the 'dummy run' Interpretations question that has been set.

S Shergoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553367030187012535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-40503608333684537612009-09-29T07:14:00.003Z2009-09-29T07:17:53.369Z

1. Summarise the attitudes/policies/leaders of the political parties involved in the 4 Dumas using the template given in Q6 on p178/9 of your text book2. Summarise the main features of the 4 Dumas using the template given on p179 of your text books3. Did the 'Age of the Dumas' represent significant political change in Russia? Explain your answer4. Did the Dumas achieve any substantial change in

S Shergoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553367030187012535noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-22930275910875170392009-08-26T21:10:00.002Z2009-08-26T21:15:15.202Z

“There is not a day that goes by that I do not feel remorse for what happened that day in My Lai."The words of William Calley, speaking just a few days ago in America, and reported by a blogger who was there. Calley is the only man to have been convicted of the notorious My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War, and remains to this day a controversial figure. The news of his 'apology' broke more

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-2632461995977655962009-06-25T16:29:00.001Z2009-06-25T16:30:14.070Z

Former US President Bill Clinton considers the legacy of his illustrious predecessor here.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-72492864521297738232009-06-25T16:25:00.003Z2009-06-25T16:33:03.528Z

'Time' magazine has an excellent 1989 anniversary issue out at the moment, reviewing that crucial year. You can see the articles online here; 1989 was the year that the wall came down, communism collapsed into the sand, Francis Fukuyama proclaimed the "end of history", Ayatollah Khomeini died, the Chinese massacred protestors in Tiananmen Square. Much of this happened over one June weekend, with

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-61344958688937960112009-06-19T09:15:00.002Z2009-06-19T09:20:25.462Z

Gents,Below is a link to a series on You Tube called Land of the Tsars. You only really need to watch from episode 16 onwards but feel free to delve into the history of Ivan the Terrible etc if you want.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXPP1j1yahg&feature=relatedIn the P Drive/History/A Level History folder I have posted a reading list for next year's Russia course, the three I think might be of

S Shergoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553367030187012535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-45978778152189513452009-06-03T13:14:00.001Z2009-06-03T13:15:35.772Z

For GCSE students, there will be a revision session on the Weimar Republic on Friday at school - period 3, Room 46 with Mr. Marshall.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-4492177377228278882009-06-01T20:11:00.002Z2009-06-01T20:17:31.998Z

A-level history students in both Lower and Upper Sixth will this year be writing about the events of eastern Europe and China in their exams almost twenty years to the day from when they occurred. It was on June 4th. 1989 that the Solidarity movement in Poland won the first free elections held in that country, a victory which eventually catapulted the whole of eastern Europe towards freedom

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-3919754541615028632009-06-01T09:06:00.006Z2009-06-01T16:57:10.276Z

A session on the Cultural Revolution will run at 3.30 today in school for anyone interested. Check the blog later today for any further advice on the China AS paper tomorrow or extra powerpoint stuff.UPDATE: A short power-point outlining origins and consequences of the Cultural Revolution can be accessed here. Please note a correction for the first slide - in the fourth point, Mao was

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-69664715527159798272009-05-19T20:42:00.002Z2009-05-19T20:46:39.475Z

One of the best ways to ensure you have prepared your material properly is to look at the exam board's Examiners' Report. If you go to this page, you will find links to both the Chinese and British papers' reports from January.In the case of the British course I have also added a link to the January paper (in pdf format). The British report is much fuller, giving detailed general comments and

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-8511561975769237932009-05-19T19:19:00.003Z2009-05-19T19:26:04.180Z

The Cultural Revolution is the topic for a revision session planned for tomorrow (Wednesday) after school - between 4 and 5 pm. Unlike the previous revision session, this will be a more straightforward run through of what the Cultural Revolution was, and an assessment of its impact. I have had a look through both the published exam questions that you have (specimen questions and the actual

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-58476866568638536012009-05-19T19:10:00.002Z2009-05-19T19:17:55.376Z

I cannot do the planned revision day with Year 11 on Thursday, as I am out at a meeting all day. However, Mr. Shergold is running revision sessions which members of all Y11 sets are welcome to attend if they wish. The schedule from Thursday is as follows:Thurs 21st May - Periods 6 and 7 - Cold War (Paper 1)Friday 5th June - Period 3 - WeimarTuesday 9th June - Periods 4 and 5 (* see

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-44519721398749103642009-05-12T07:08:00.005Z2009-05-12T07:15:17.285Z

It is the sixtieth anniversary of the end of the Berlin Blockade today. On 12th. May 1949 Stalin tacitly admitted defeat, after a year of trying to stop the western powers supplying West Berlin with essential food and fuel. It was arguably the first conflict of the Cold War, and veterans from the time recall their experiences to the BBC here. BBC Bitesize has this short revision page as well.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-83358839038654177722009-05-11T22:27:00.003Z2009-05-11T22:29:20.755Z

Use the link from this post to access the various articles on Eastern Europe, which you will find helpful for note-taking and forming an overview of how the Eastern Europe countries evolved during the century.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-77649486481123336602009-05-11T20:54:00.003Z2009-05-11T20:59:39.284Z

I will run a GCSE Revision Day on Thursday May 21st., organised as follows:9.30 - 11 - Aspects of Paper 1 Section A (International Relations 1919 - 1963)11.30 - 12.30 - Paper 1 Section B (Britain in World War 2/focus on answering source based questions)2 - 3pm - Paper 2 - Answering Questions on Germany3 - 4pm - Paper 2 - Answering Questions on the USA.The format will be to consider key

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-59800061121479593282009-05-11T20:46:00.004Z2009-05-11T21:01:50.105Z

These will run as follows:Thursday May 14th.9 - 10 am - Early Years (1911 to 1930s)/focusing on the Nationalists10.15 - 11.15 am - Reasons for and assessment of the Communist victory by 194911.45 am - 12.45 pm - Mao and the CCP 1949 - 1966Wednesday May 20th.4 - c.5pm - The Cultural RevolutionMy apologies if these times are not wholly suitable - the difficulty has been fitting these revision

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-8074597746127920882009-05-11T13:57:00.002Z2009-05-11T14:01:01.569Z

A timetable for the various exam revision classes will be published on this blog shortly, with sessions beginning on Wednesday (I am unfortunately away from school tomorrow - Tuesday). Similar politics timetable will go up on the politics blog for AS students.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-32543527293812276292009-03-19T10:57:00.002Z2009-03-19T11:00:16.330Z

Students considering Deng Xiaoping's achievements might be interested in checking these two profiles from the American media, both giving a lengthy and fair assessment. CNN profiles Deng here, and Time magazine's 2006 profile is here.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-52593800014848217562009-03-05T12:42:00.002Z2009-03-05T12:52:48.428Z

As we approach the end of the GCSE / AS / A2 courses and start to prepare for revision, a good place to start might be to utilise these You Tube clips.Y11 - Nazi Germany6 part UKTV History documentary on the Night of the Long Knives - a well structured account detailing the causes of this event as well as the executions themselves and the aftermath. Clips 5 and 6 deal with the execution of Roehm.

S Shergoldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03553367030187012535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-18692318645855429622009-02-18T18:48:00.004Z2009-02-18T18:53:53.610Z

According to the Boston Globe newspaper, the conservative critics of President Obama's stimulus plan have homed in on FDR's New Deal as part of their critical attack. The main thrust of the criticism - which should be familiar to all GCSE students - is that the New Deal didn't work, since it didn't really solve unemployment. For the conservative critics of today, that's as good a reason as any

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-7288125599211158042009-02-09T10:55:00.004Z2009-02-09T11:02:56.113Z

As Year 10 start on the topic of the Cold War, here are one or two books that are worth reading to really get acquainted with this extraordinary period of recent history. Historian Gaddis has produced a very readable, fast paced account of all aspects of the Cold War, from the end of World War 2 to the end of the Soviet empire. Martin Walker is a journalist who brings his journalistic training to

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-7399177351771044732008-12-18T11:07:00.003Z2008-12-18T11:15:13.711Z

Some books you might be interested in reading over the Christmas holidays are detailed below. Others can be identified in the carousel above, where clicking on any of the titles takes you straight to the relevant amazon page.1. "The Private Life of Chairman Mao" is a slightly different look at Mao's life from his former physician - a little salacious at times, has proved popular with previous

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-28951092849171312252008-12-04T18:45:00.003Z2008-12-04T18:56:57.976Z

For Year 10 students (and the sixth form supervisors), the following details apply for Friday's visit:Meet at rear school gates straight after period 5 - 1252.We will be walking to Sutton station to catch the next train to Elephant and Castle (there is one at 1306, but I suspect we will have to aim for the 1336)On arrival at Elephant and Castle, we will be walking to the Imperial War Museum.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-22763001316874585752008-11-30T13:18:00.005Z2011-01-25T00:00:44.553Z

There were varied reactions to the conference from attendant students. Rana Mitter received generally positive reviews for his two lectures in the morning - both of them clear, informative and well communicated despite the microphone difficulties and a couple of best avoided jokes. The afternoon's speakers were less uniformly appreciated, with the first one - also a lecturer from Oxford -

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-9441468435066571602008-11-26T13:00:00.002Z2008-11-26T13:03:52.945Z

You will know if you are currently on the Mao Conference list. This conference takes place on Friday, at the City Temple on Holborn Viaduct. The instructions for the conference are linked here.All students should meet at sutton station at 9.20. The train we are catching comes from Wimbledon and Wimbledon Chase I think - please check train timetables and advise me if you intend to meet us on the

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-87297511459669267462008-10-24T16:13:00.005Z2008-10-24T16:29:34.801Z

Lower Sixth students should certainly buy and read the book 'Modern China: A Very Short Introduction' by Rana Mitter. More ambitious students could try Mitter's 'A Bitter Revolution' next - both are linked to their respective Amazon pages below.Mitter, of course, is giving two of the Mao lectures in London later in the month.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-87371600899781488412008-10-24T16:05:00.002Z2008-10-24T16:08:45.891Z

Her are the two parts of the 'China in Revolution' video that both groups have seen in lessons, taken from Youtube. Part 2 is the first one below, dealing with the period from Sun's death to Chiang's triumph as leader of the GMD and ruler of China. The first part, below it, looks at the 1911 revolution. Some of the first hand recollections in the second video are particularly interesting in

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-6524534115999206312008-09-29T20:22:00.002Z2008-09-29T20:27:41.640Z

A2 students in particular would benefit from reading this article in the London Review of Books, which provides a consideration of the development of Eastern Europe, and in particular the impact of its geographical nearness to the old Ottoman empire, modern day Turkey.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-84198954140195908922008-09-08T08:45:00.000Z2008-09-08T08:46:44.995Z

Students wishing to review the series of China maps, showing its changing boundaries over the centuries, can do so by accessing the 'China' folder on the school's P-drive.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-67618088310398747952008-09-04T08:48:00.002Z2008-09-04T08:53:06.953Z

For all those starting GCSE's or A-levels this year, welcome to the History Blog. This is intended as a resource for further studies, using the links opposite, and as an information site. Mr. Shergold and I will try and post on here to keep students updated about work assignments, or to add useful links for further research. We might occasionally indulge in some historically mediative

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-72066221742549460642008-06-17T11:12:00.003Z2008-06-17T11:16:31.381Z

This is the fascinating documentary extract dealing with the Gulf of Tonkin, taken I think from 'The Fog of War'. The tapes make for fascinating listening, particularly about Johnson's motives with regards to Vietnam, and McNamara provides an honest assessment of the difficulties of the decisions.Related videos are in the new 'History on You Tube' link in the sidebar.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-28214554595313289702008-05-20T12:51:00.001Z2008-05-20T12:52:09.404Z

Good youtube video here about the Great Leap, including footage of Mao's bizarre sparrow cull. Narrated by Tom Baker, it is a pretty sound account.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-79060196583870362392008-05-20T11:17:00.004Z2008-05-20T11:22:31.039Z

The 'History Today' articles used in the revision session, together with some others, have now been added to the A-level Presentations page (see link opposite). You can access them directly here.Do use the comments facility to ask for any further clarification, or if you want to request a further revision session on China. I will add further China links to the blog as I find them.Finally, for A2

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-16458372890681209132008-05-20T06:37:00.002Z2008-05-20T06:39:02.526Z

New revision presentations have been added to the GCSE and A-level pages. Click on the links opposite ('From the Lessons') for Mr. Shergold's Year 11 Cold War powerpoint, and - for AS-level students - for his 1905 and Era of Reaction powerpoints.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-25247302404349983792008-05-19T13:22:00.002Z2008-05-19T13:23:15.009Z

Just to confirm that there will be a revision session on Eastern Europe at school from 10am tomorrow (Tuesday); will be followed after break (1130) by a short China revision session.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-3435859296400384132008-05-13T13:34:00.002Z2008-05-13T13:35:02.856Z

The links have been added to and tidied up opposite. Power-point presentations from the lessons can be found in the top section.

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-36934850576056358112008-05-13T06:58:00.004Z2008-05-13T13:34:10.061Z

I have decided to reactivate this blog for the exam period, in order to update links that might be helpful for revision and to advise on revision sessions in school. Current Sessions are detailed below.YEAR 11 Wednesday 14th. May0930 - 1200: Paper 1, Section AThursday 15th. May1015 - 1200: Paper 1, Section BMeet Room 66LOWER SIXTHTuesday 13th. MayPeriod 1 - Alexander II's Reforms (Rm 66)THERE IS

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-56902817854307034912007-05-31T13:26:00.000Z2007-10-05T14:30:42.697Z

Despite popular belief, the History powerpoints on the Russian Revolution are now available on a web page, which is here. Most topics are covered, but please note that there is no presentation on the effects of the war, 1914 - 1917. Sorry.There are also a couple of British History revision powerpoints on the page for your reference, as well as a link to AQA's mark schemes.A2 students will find

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080596099327270676.post-1815183143053270042007-02-05T22:54:00.000Z2007-02-05T23:31:53.721Z

There is a great deal to note down from today's Russian Revolution conference, and I will put notes from each of the lectures up here. Each of the lecturers had useful things to say, although delivery varied from the competent and listenable, to the convoluted and sleep inducing, without ever really hitting the excitement button! Nonetheless, use their insights in exam answers and you might

GMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06349525546417455064noreply@blogger.com2