2013 started with a name change from Social Sciences to better reflect the spread and the focus of the subjects gathered together in our department and student successes in external exams to celebrate (including three NCEA Scholarships – two in History and one in Classical Studies). Humanities options remain popular with LPHS students and growth has led to the creation of a third History option at Year 11.
The reports that follow will testify to the achievements of our students at all levels in a wide range of endeavours over the course of the year. The ability of LPHS individuals and teams to succeed in quizzes, speech competitions, regional and national competitions like MUNA and the New Zealand Historical Association’s Young Historian awards is evidence of their readiness to take on any challenge and apply their learning with enthusiasm in any and all situations outside the classroom. The Vietnam trip was a special case in point as students seized the opportunity to explore new perspectives on a culture and a tragic historical event they had previously studied at a distance.
We are looking to confirm and extend that experience and are exploring the opportunities the WW100 commemorations offer to explore the historical legacies of the First World War by interacting with French and Turkish schools and planning a 2015 History / Classics “expedition” to Turkey, Greece and Italy. We are proud and happy to take our LPHS classicists and historians into the world they are so ready for. Whether the world is ready for them is always an interesting notion to test!
