Throughout their time at the Preparatory School the pupils will take part in at least one History trip a year. This includes a trip to Rome; Stirling Castle and Bannockburn; Scotland Street Museum in Glasgow where pupils take part in a Victorian class; Mary King’s Close; a tour of Edinburgh Old Town and Gladstone’s Land. There is an emphasis on ‘living History’ and pupils take part in a variety of workshops.

Topics studied in the Preparatory School are:
• Ancient Egypt
• The Victorians
• Second World War
• The Romans; Vikings and Anglo-Saxons
• Medieval Life
• The Scottish Wars of Independence
• The Crusades
• The Tudor and Stuarts
• The English Civil War

With regard to examinations, all pupils in T, 1st & 2nd form will sit examinations at the end of the Christmas and summer terms. The second form Christmas and summer examinations are the type of examinations they will be sitting in the 3rd form. These include questions based on source work and also a choice of essay questions.

The History syllabus has been designed in collaboration with the College’s Head of Department to take into consideration the history topics the pupils will study up to GCSE. This is reflected in the schemes of work for the final year in the Preparatory School with more emphasis on essay style questions and looking at various historical sources. All 2nd Form pupils also complete a project in their final year. They are expected to be able to work more independently in order to prepare them for the College.