History Explorers
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History Explorers Summer Course
Discover fascinating stories from the past, investigate historical evidence and explore how people and societies have changed over time with Atlas Summer Courses. Our History Explorers summer course, designed for junior students aged 9–10 and 11–12, introduces young learners to history through engaging, age-appropriate learning.
Across the one-week course, students are encouraged to ask questions, examine evidence and consider different perspectives while developing their curiosity about the people, events and ideas that have shaped our world.
What's Included?
Your residential History Explorers summer course includes academic teaching, accommodation, meals and a certificate on completion, alongside the activities and experiences included within your chosen programme.
What Is History Explorers?
History Explorers introduces younger students to the study of the past and encourages them to think about how we know what happened before we were here.
History isn't simply about remembering dates and events. Historians ask questions, examine evidence and compare different accounts to build an understanding of people and societies in the past.
For younger students, exploring history can mean investigating why important events happened, discovering what life was like for people in different periods and considering how the decisions people made helped shape what happened next.
Our History Explorers summer course introduces these ideas in an age-appropriate way, encouraging students to become curious investigators of the past.
What Will Students Explore on the History Explorers Course?
There is no prescribed syllabus that every student follows. Atlas Summer Courses tutors create their own syllabi, drawing on their expertise while taking the ages, abilities and interests of their students into account.
Depending on the tutor and group, students could explore different historical periods, people, societies and events while learning how historians use evidence to understand the past.
They might consider questions such as:
- How do we know what happened in the past?
- What can historical sources tell us about people's lives?
- Why do societies change over time?
- Why can people have different accounts of the same event?
- How do the decisions of individuals influence history?
- What can studying the past teach us about the world today?
The exact content can vary from course to course. Tutors have the flexibility to adapt their teaching to the interests and engagement of the students in their group.
Any syllabus or topics shown on our website are examples rather than a guarantee of exactly what students will study.
How Students Learn
Our Junior courses are designed to make academic learning engaging, interactive and appropriate for younger students.
12 hours of small-group lessons
Across the one-week programme, students take part in structured small-group classes. Lessons are designed to get students thinking and learning in an engaging and interactive way, with the tutor encouraging everyone to participate and develop their curiosity about history.
Each lesson follows a process of review, learning and application, giving students opportunities to build their understanding before applying what they've learned through age-appropriate discussions and activities.
Students are encouraged to ask questions, examine historical evidence, compare different perspectives and explain the reasoning behind their ideas.
The aim is to develop curiosity about the past while helping students become more confident, thoughtful and independent learners.
Who Is History Explorers For?
Our History Explorers summer course for ages 9–12 is designed for young learners who are curious about the past and enjoy discovering stories about different people, places and periods.
Students don't need any specialist historical knowledge. The course may particularly appeal to children who enjoy history at school, like asking why events happened, are fascinated by people and societies from the past or enjoy investigating different explanations.
Students will be encouraged to develop skills including critical thinking, examining evidence, communication, considering different perspectives and constructing reasoned explanations.
With separate age groups for 9–10 and 11–12, teaching can be adapted to provide an appropriate level of challenge for students at different stages.
Learn from Expert Tutors
Atlas Summer Courses tutors are experienced educators and subject specialists with backgrounds across academia, industry and education.
For our Junior courses, tutors guide students through their subject in an engaging and supportive way, encouraging participation and helping students develop their curiosity and confidence.
Tutors have the freedom to respond to their students' interests and enquiries while adapting their approach to the age and needs of the group.
Tutors are confirmed closer to the summer, so profiles on our website are examples of tutors who have previously worked with us rather than confirmation of who will teach a particular course.
What Can Students Gain from History Explorers?
At ages 9–12, exploring history is an opportunity to develop curiosity about the past while learning how to examine information and think carefully about different explanations.
Students can practise analysing evidence, considering different perspectives, asking thoughtful questions and explaining their ideas while discovering more about people and societies from different periods.
These skills can support future learning across history as well as subjects such as English, politics, philosophy, archaeology and other humanities disciplines.
Most importantly, a History Explorers summer course gives young students the opportunity to discover that history isn't simply something to remember — it's something to investigate, question and interpret.
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FAQs about Our Summer Courses
No. You don't usually need to have studied your chosen subject before joining an Atlas Summer Courses summer course. Courses are designed for the relevant age group, and tutors can adapt their approach to the abilities, interests and experience of the students in their group.
There is no fixed curriculum that every student follows. Our tutors create their own syllabi based on their academic expertise and the interests and learning needs of their students.
This means the exact topics can vary between courses and years. Any syllabus or topics shown on our website are examples from previous courses and shouldn't be taken as a guarantee of exactly what you'll study.
Teaching depends on your age group. Students aged 9–12 and Scholars aged 12–14 learn through structured, interactive small-group classes. Students aged 13–15 combine small-group seminars with private study, while students aged 16–17 and 18–24 experience seminars, tutorials and independent study.
Across our programmes, teaching is designed to encourage active participation, questioning and independent thinking rather than simply listening to lectures.
Your course includes your academic programme, accommodation, meals and a certificate on completion, alongside the activities and experiences included within your programme.
What's included can vary depending on the programme, age group and package you choose, so we recommend checking the individual course details for the full inclusions before applying.
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