History

About the History Department

Head of Department: Dr C Rees
Teacher of History: Mr M Luckwell

History is an extremely popular subject at Penyrheol and many students opt to take it as one of their GCSE choices.

Our GCSE results are regularly above 70% A*-C and many of our students opt to study the subject at A Level. In 2022 we achieved 80% A*-C grades, with 40% achieving A*-A grades – another excellent set of examination results.

We follow the WJEC  specification and study:

  • Germany in Transition 1919-1939
  • The Elizabethan Age 1558-1603
  • Changes in Crime and Punishment c.1500 – present day

The Department has been together for over 25 years and has very experienced staff:

Dr Christian Rees has been Head of Department since 1999 and is a Principal Examiner. For his PhD he undertook research into aspects of the British Empire in Africa in the late nineteenth century. He is a David Bowie fan and great admirer of Christopher Hitchens. His teaching room is immaculate.

 

Mr Martyn Luckwell has been at Penyrheol since 1988 and is a long standing Head of Year. His fields of expertise are the First World War and early nineteenth British History. He is a keen Dickensian, a Slade and Paul Weller fan, a true polymath, socialist and humanist. His teaching room is unbelievably untidy.

Both of us lost great uncles in the Great War, which is an uncanny coincidence by any measure.

The parental guides show the topics that are taught at Penyrheol. We also undertake fieldwork trips to expand students’ knowledge and experience of History. Recent visits include Kidwelly Castle and the First World War Battlefields in Belgium and France. In October 2018 we undertook a tour of the Second World War Battlefields in Normandy and in February 2019 we went to Krakow! We’re back with a bang in 2023 as we once again take over 90 students to the First World War Battlefields in Belgium and France.

You can  contact Dr Rees at the following email address:

penyrheolhistorydept@gmail.com