History Department

Historical Happenings

Senior girls have continued to enjoy a full complement of trips; and we have had a lot of fun in History Club this year. The Autumn Term was spent making Victorian Christmas Decorations and learning about crafts that were popular during the Industrial Revolution age. In the Spring Term we investigated Tudor pirates to enhance the learning of the Year 8 Voyages of Discovery curriculum. We ended the year making Medieval chocolate castles which was requested by our excellent History prefects Anjali Anicatt and Emma Duper. It has been a busy year in Politics club with two mock elections. Back in November, the Girls’ Division elected Hilary Clinton over Donald Trump as President of the United States with 82% of the vote. Recently, girls in Years 7-10 ‘voted’ for MPs in North West constituencies, and it has certainly been interesting to compare votes cast and seats won! The Conservatives achieved a clear majority in School, winning 14 ‘seats’ (or forms) with 53.3% of the vote, and Labour won the other 7 ‘seats’ with 32.8%. Finally, Mr Winrow displayed great civic virtue by donating £25 to the Christie hospital in return for the huge Papier-mâché ‘Trump head’, which was created by a Year 10 form for their performance in the ‘Christmas post’. Since then, ‘the Donald’ has resided in B20 with the department still unsure as to how it could be used. If anyone has any ideas, please get in touch!

Mr C Owen

Witnessing Drama in the US Senate

28 excited Sixth Form girls and four staff took off on the biennial History and Politics trip to New York City and Washington DC over the Easter holidays. When we arrived in New York we were met with a heavy downpour. However, the wet weather did not dampen our spirits and by the next day we were climbing the Rockefeller Center under sunny skies. After our visit to one of the busiest cities in the world, we headed to the less hectic Washington DC – or so we thought. However, by now we should realise that politics is rarely drama-free. While we were in town, the Democrats and Republicans were facing off over Donald Trump’s controversial Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch. The Democrats planned to filibuster Gorsuch’s confirmation in the Senate, in protest of the fact that the Republicans refused to give Obama’s nominee a confirmation hearing in 2016. After cheekily asking a security guard if we were allowed into the Senate, we were able to watch the “prefilibuster” by Democrat Senator Jeff Merkley. He discussed an array of issues, including the consequences the “stolen seat” would have for democracy in America and the issues that politicians in the future would face if Gorsuch was confirmed. Whilst watching the filibuster, many of us felt as though we were experiencing history – granted, not a lot to ask for on a History and Politics trip. We listened to Merkley for about an hour, which some of the girls thought was quite a long time until they woke up the next morning and realised that he was still speaking! In total, the Merkley filibuster lasted for 15 hours. However, ultimately the Republican leader in the Senate triggered the so-called “nuclear option” to amend Senate Rules and halt the filibuster, and Gorsuch now sits on the Supreme Court. After taking a detour through Philadelphia, we arrived back at JFK airport to leave the USA with heavy hearts and plenty of new evidence to use in essays under our belts. Although every part of the trip was a fantastic experience, it is safe to say that nothing topped the opportunity to sit in the Senate Gallery, looking down onto the Senate floor (a chamber which already holds so much history) and seeing the divisive issues of modern American politics unfold before our eyes. Thank you to all the wonderful staff for accompanying us to the USA and giving us the opportunity to experience American History and Politics up close – it was a truly unforgettable trip and a great way for many of us to end our time at Bolton School.

Cerys Baines Year 13