An evening with Dominic Sandbrook

To most people, a 3-hour lecture on the last 60-or-so years of British history probably wouldn’t sound like the best way to spend a Friday evening. To the Sixth Form History students of Concord College, however, the opportunity to have a talk from one of Britain’s most eminent historians, Mr Dominic Sandbrook, was something we greatly relished. The visiting historians and sixthformers from Wolverhampton Girls’ High School – who drove a good distance purely for this talk – felt a similar way. Mr Sandbrook has written multiple books on Britain and modern history, including titles such as “Never Had It So Good” and “White Heat”.

The event took place on Friday 3^rd May, and involved Mr Sandbrook answering questions that we had prepared in advance. There was a wide variety of questions, involving everything from the truth behind the supposed “swinging” sixties to the premierships, Tony Blair and John Major. More globally, there was also discussion about the role of Britain in the Cold War, and the decision to join the European Economic Community – the latter of which is still particularly pertinent today.

Ultimately, the purpose behind this informal lecture was to help prepare us for our upcoming exams, by giving us a greater understanding of specific people and places, as well as wider and potentially more-complicated topics that we learn about in the classroom. Topics such as global politics and its effect on history, or that of social trends and phenomena in recent years. Needless to say, the talk was extremely edifying, and I personally feel that I have gained a new level of understanding of British history, and that the once-dreaded history paper now seems slightly less daunting.

Luke – 6.1