“What was it like for children in the Second World War?” is the theme of a course for key stage 2-3 teachers at the Imperial War Museum, London, July 10. It will explore role-play, use of artefacts, documents, posters, photographs and film and include opportunities to meet former evacuees and visit the Children’s War exhibition. Another exhibition, Great Escapes, ending on July 31, documents the extraordinary escape attempts of Allied servicemen.

Tel: 020 7416 53135444 www.iwm.org.ukchildrenswar www.iwm.org.ukescapes An exhibition on the Somme opens on July 1 at the National Army Museum, London SW3, to mark the battle’s 90th anniversary. Make up your own mind whether the Allied generals made a decisive stroke for victory or were “incompetent donkeys”. Suitable for ages seven upwards. Related activities include a secondary weekend, July 8-9, featuring a reconstructed battalion HQ, film screenings of the battle and a staged interview with Field Marshal Haig. An outdoor event, the Horse in War, September 16-17, will include demonstrations of military horsemanship from the middle ages to the First World War.

Tel: 020 7730 0717 www.national-army-museum.ac.uk

COMPETITIONS AND AWARDS

The Historical Association invites entries by July 31 for the Young Historian Awards. There are categories for primary, key stage 3 and upper secondary as well as special prizes funded by the Spirit of Normandy Trust for individual work on an aspect of British involvement in the Second World War. For a list of prize categories, send an SAE to Dr Trevor James, Young Historian Project, Birmingham and Midland Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS.

Tel: 01543 301097

The Roman Historical Fiction Competition, sponsored by Hodder Murray and the Historical Association, is aimed at Year 7 and 8 pupils. A previous winning entry described a young woman’s heartbreak when the man she loves chooses to escape slavery by becoming a gladiator. The closing date is mid January. Winners receive cash prizes and books for their schools.

Tel: 01235 827720 (Hodder Murray) www.historicalfiction.org.uk

WEBSITE

The National Archives at Kew is putting the Domesday Book, England’s earliest public record, online. The Learning Curve, its free KS3 website, has also been updated. This complements studies on medieval society with the story behind the compilation of Domesday Book as well as student activities. Other resources on, for example, the English Civil War, are featured on the main National Archives site.

www.learningcurve.gov.ukFocusOnDomesday www.learningcurve.gov.ukcivilwar www.nationalarchives.gov.uk