iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 8h

Had far too much fun today with Y7. We explored interpretations by Simon Schama and Marc Morris, then explored gorgeous sources like the Lindisfarne Gospels and Alfred Jewel so they could make their own claims about what Saxon England was like and practise using evidence to support them. 🤓

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Kudos to my Y13s. I asked them to name a prominent Leveller. Quite a few went straight to the women: Katherine Chidley and Elizabeth Lilburne. Dead proud.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Another superb trip to Hampton Court Palace for OCR B History Around Us! Awesome to hear students excitedly point out things we've taught them, and gasp "wows" at stunning spaces like this.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Interesting to see gentle parenting being sharply criticised 450 years ago

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Anyone who knows the film Lagaan will understand how I'll react when it finally rains again in the South East.

static.klipy.com

Lagaan: Aamir Khan's Victory

ALT: Lagaan: Aamir Khan's Victory

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

And for my next mid-life obsession, I will be exploring local towpaths with the boy and stopping en route at cafés and playgrounds.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Onto this absolute unit, having just finish Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait for my fiction choice. #blueskybookclub #historyreads

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Hamilton inspiration for classroom posters... (or should that be Lin-spiration 😉)

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Corey @coreysoper.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

A cursory glance at the kind of person who 'does their own research' might indicate that autodidacticism ain't all that.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Got my first lower school form group for the first time in donkey's years in September. Looking forward to it! Any particular tips from current KS3 form tutors? #pastoral #KS3

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Weird how the right both believe Thatcher's council house sale is the best policy in history and that anyone who benefitted from it is bad and wrong.

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Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 19/06/2026

Whether councillors like it or not, there will be LGBT+ people in their ward and city. Banning Pride is to remove the message that they are welcome and safe. Scapegoating, hatred, and division have led us here. So stand with compassion, and sign our petition. humanists.uk/action/refor...

humanists.uk

Help stop Reform councils from banning Pride

Reform UK-led councils in Havering, Essex, Sunderland, and Gateshead are taking down Pride flags, cancelling ceremonies, and withdrawing support from events that celebrate LGBT+ people and their place...

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Rich Kerridge @historyrichk.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Are there any #CambridgeOCR #History #GCSE #SHP teachers still to go out on their HAU site visit this term. I have a colleague who would benefit from seeing how the HAU unit works on the visit. If you have space for a couple of extras, please let me know.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

My god, I just LOVED this. First, the rare opportunity to get to know a 15th century Norfolk family thanks to the very rare survival of a set of private letters. The chronological range was so moving: although it mostly focuses on the late 15th century and micro-impacts of the Wars of the Roses 1/3

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Found this absolute gem in the British Museum shop and it's so, so good! A few spreads will be excellent for posters, and it presents so many disciplinary concepts and processes brilliantly.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Absolutely LOVING this already. Helen Castor writes so eloquently.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Ooh but this is a cracker already. Loving the wry explanation of the vestments controversy under Elizabeth I.

The book "The Journey to the Mayflower" by Stephen Tomkins

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Happily joining this! Not that I use it much anyway.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Such brilliant news to wake up to this morning. Almost didn't dare hope. 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

I'm so enjoying listening to the audiobook of David Mitchell's Unruly. Especially his analysis of why William II has such a lacklustre reputation. Dangerous though: now I want a mini-SOW on medieval historiography...

media.tenor.com

a little girl in a red jacket is looking up at something in the sky

ALT: a little girl in a red jacket is looking up at something in the sky

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Happily (!) marking Y9 source assessments in local café while Joe is at holiday club. They've done a great job on the whole, but if I had a £ for every misplaced apostrophe in "Nazis" I could've bought the whole café a bacon roll each

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Superb day at the #arksoane26 conference, as always! Came away with a ton of ideas about making our A Level course more engaging and knowledge-rich, as well as using stories and place at GCSE and what themes the Haitian Revolution can reveal to Y8. Prof Richard Evans' talk was a nerdy delight too!

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

This paragraph from Hard Times still scarily relevant in 2026.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

One of my new favourite activities with A Level classes is spending quality time choosing exactly the right word for an analytical sentence. Today Y12 tried to avoid calling Charles I stupid or arrogant in 1638. These were their initial choices, all discussed and evaluated.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

One of my favourite things about parenting a 6-year-old is picking reading books with him at the library 🤩

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

My god, this book is just phenomenal. And good to know I can legitimately get Hamilton into our OCR Making of America lessons. (Who am I kidding, I would have got him in there anyway)

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Ben hitting the nail on the AI head brilliantly again here.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Just watched Dunkirk (2017) again. Delighted to learn Mark Rylance's character is based on Charles Lightoller, 2nd officer of Titanic who later sailed one of the many "little ships" assisting the 1940 evacuation. He rescued 127 men and the move to avoid a Stuka bomber shown in the film was real.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Woohoo, just got booked onto this! See you there if you're coming too, fellow #historyteachers (you absolutely should)

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

I just so happen to be teaching two different lessons about India tomorrow: Elizabethan exploration there with Y11 and East India Company rule with Y8. Looking forward to getting stuck into this:

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Pete's revamped enquiry here is brilliant, bringing some tricky concepts to life and giving real insight into the seismic changes of my favourite century.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

My son is at a church-run holiday club and I'm upstairs in their café learning all about the Making of America to plan the final GCSE unit having switched to OCR B. It's a cracker of a textbook, @apf102.bsky.social !

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Just finished Pachinko - as stunning as everyone says it is - and now onto this absolute unit. Thanks @helenpins.bsky.social for the recommendation!

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

This was a brilliant event last year: can't wait to go again!

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Mike Hill @michaeldoron.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

www.eventbrite.com/e/ark-soane-history-conference-2026-tickets-1747091470619?aff=oddtdtcreator Following the success of Eamon Duffy's keynote last year, Steve Mastin will host another keynote conversation with a renowned historian. 📚 More details to be announced soon!

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Sixth form opening evening, done. Lovely to see so many current students. The highlight was telling them that if they do A Level History, they'll get to come to the National Archives and see one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence 🤓

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Tell me you're planning your new GCSE unit on the Making of America without telling me you're planning your new GCSE unit on the Making of America

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Today we said goodbye to a very dear person, the Head of History at my school for many years & when I first started there. Gone long before his time: a good reminder of the impact we have on our students & colleagues even when we've moved on. Rest in peace Andy, and thank you for all you did for me.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Anyone out there teach Edexcel A Level Politics? The team at our school is switching from US Politics to Global and would love some advice. #alevelpolitics #politicsteacher

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Pete Jackson @petejackson.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

New blog so that the GCSE historical stories that myself and @benbassett.bsky.social have worked on can be shared with the wider history teaching community. Enjoy. open.substack.com/pub/petejack... #historyteacher

open.substack.com

Would you like to use more stories in your GCSE teaching?

Sharing some of our best stories to make GCSE History memorable and engaging.

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Kat O'Connor @kat-oc-kearey.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Loved this book. It was a very good choice of Mother's Day present from my 5-year-old son (ahem, husband). Can't seem to get enough different perspectives of the mid 17th century! Very well told by Lucy Moore, using Ann Fanshawe's receipt book (more like a memoir and recipe collection combined).

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