Visit to Framlingham Castle - Clare Trevatt

I recently visited Framlingham Castle with Ben Walsh and a team from English Heritage to discuss the new site packs that will be produced to support ‘Castles: Form and Function c.1000-1750’ within OCR GCSE A Explaining the Modern World. Framlingham Castle will be the site assessed in the 2018 examination.

This was a fantastic day where I got to walk the castle walls with the English Heritage teams and guides, learn about the meres around the castle and see the poor houses built later within the walls of the castle. After a blustery start walking the walls of the castle, we settled in to discuss the packs that would be produced for the unit.

Ben and I explained the content set out in the specification and how the assessments would work, which will allow English Heritage to decide how to structure the site pack. We talked for a long while about which types of sources could be included in the site packs and how these would support teachers and learners. We also discussed the need for the site pack to be comprehensive, as although teachers may wish to visit the castle (and we would recommend this where possible), this is not a requirement of the specification.

English Heritage mentioned during the day that they would like to run an event at Framlingham Castle for schools, where one of their historians would introduce the site and the history. This is a great idea and I hope that I can bring you news of this event in a future issue of the History newsletter.

After this visit, I’m very excited to see the site pack produced for this new part of the specification. Next on my list is to get in touch with BASA (the Black and Asian Studies Association) who worked with us to develop ‘Urban Environments: Patterns of Migration’ to discuss a similar pack for Butetown in Cardiff, which will be the site assessed in this unit in the 2018 examination.

About the author

Clare Trevatt - Subject Specialist - History

Clare has worked at OCR for a few years now, first working on Religious Studies and then moving across to work on History qualifications. Her degree is in History, with emphasis on modern non-European and medieval British history. Clare has previously worked for the Department of Education, in the funding and contract management of providers delivering provision up to Level 2. In her spare time Clare likes to read anything and everything, play with her dogs and spend time on the Norfolk coast.