Class 8 are in the second week of a History Main Lesson, in which we are exploring the momentous Industrial Revolution which followed on from the Renaissance in Europe and spread across the Western World to America and Australia. During the first week we started off by looking at the accidental invention of the Spinning Jenny in Britain, which heralded the onset of the Industrial Revolution.

Through looking at inventions such as the steam engine, power loom and agricultural developments, and the representation of life and the changing landscape depicted in artworks and primary sources from that time, the class examined the human passage from an agrarian based society to an urban and industrial one. The Class 8 students were particularly interested in how many people's lives changed from that of a tranquil, idyllic countryside living to towns belching smoke and fumes, full of noise, poverty and industry.  

From Britain, we will cross the ocean to Australia later this week, where we will discuss the effects of industrialisation on various industries as well as on travel, migration, communication, education and daily life in 19th century Australia.  

The class has engaged in many great discussions around the lasting impact of the inventions of the Industrial Revolution to our modern world. In the final week of the Main Lesson, Class Eight are again crossing the world to learn about the events leading up to, and the beginning of the tumultuous French Revolution. We will examine the changes wrought by the pressure and perseverance of the masses in demanding, ‘Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité’ (Liberty, Equality and Fraternity). 

Ethna Brave 

Humanities Teacher