What is The Point in Learning … History
Have you ever sat in a Maths class wondering if you will ever have to do long division without a calculator once you leave school? Or silently cursed your Geography teacher while learning about the formation of oxbow lakes?
And History? That’s all in the past and irrelevant, isn’t it? In this series of articles, we will look at some of the subjects we learn at school, and try and answer the question: What’s the point in learning this?
Last time we looked at uses of Physics, both in day to day life, and in careers. Today we will focus on History – the study of the past and how our society came to be as it is. Here are some ways in which studying History is useful to us:
Critical Thinking

Thinking by Elisabeth Haslam
When we study history we don’t just learn lists of facts and dates off by heart. We read lots of opinions about what happened and why, and come to our own conclusion. We base these opinions on two types of material, primary sources which are texts and drawings created at the time of the history we are studying, and secondary sources which were written after the event.
Merida The Beautiful… Wait… What??!
Merida the Beautiful … Wait. What?
Since when was Merida the beautiful princess? Wasn’t she Merida the Brave? Wasn’t she an anti-princess, a strong and feisty fighter, defender of her own virtue, thank you very much.
British Canadian blogger Sarah Jay takes a closer look at Merida merchandising.
Connection Infection – Poetry by Kids
News scrolling on a bright screen
Eyes scanning down a magazine
Locked up in a daydream
Obsessed by the latest Instagram post I’ve seen
I’m infected with a virus
That I can’t get out of my head
It’s got me going crazy
At least; that’s what the comments said
Hairstyles and creations
‘Urgent’ messages from relations
The latest trends and how to cook
Living life by an electronic book
I’m infected with a bug
That’s connected to my hands
That’s left me solitary
Unware of and blind to the past
We used to talk face to face
Of politics, clothes and space
But then you were replaced
By a cruel-minded interface
My alarm’s a notification
I’m dictated by cold metal parts
My day scheduled on reaching the leader boards
The social media bug has infected my heart
How to Eat Healthily With Food Allergies
Writer and blogger Kate Thompson has four children. Kitty and Archie are eight years old. Along with their older brothers (aged 12 and 16) they suffer from food allergies, in their case “gut allergies” called non IgE allergies which you can’t test for.
The more well known allergies are IgE allergies – these are the ones which bring an instant reaction – sometimes this reaction can be very dangerous, and the person cannot breathe properly.
The Ultimate Guide for Kids to Pack Your Own Suitcase
Welcome to our ultimate guide for kids to pack your own suitcase!
When I was a kid, my parents were Scout leaders and one of their rules was that kids should pack their own suitcases. My mum always said that if the kids packed themselves, they knew what they had in their bag or rucksack and how to find things. And they were able to pack to go home.
Now I have my own kids, I can see exactly what she meant. My kids have been packing their own suitcases since they were little. In the beginning, I’d check to ensure that they didn’t have 12 t-shirts and one pair of trousers for a week-long holiday but now I just remind them to take their toothbrush and any vital pieces of kit.









