Zara, 41, is a spa therapist residing in Leeds. Here she shares her love for history, how history helped her gain top grades in her GCSE retakes, the FutureLearn courses that she’s enjoyed most and how they led her to visit famous historical sites and exhibitions.
Philippa Gregory, author of ‘The other Boleyn girl’ got me started on my historical hobby about 10 years ago. I have done other courses with other online history programmes in the past which I enjoyed both for myself to indulge in my hobby but also to expand and develop myself academically too.
I left school with 4 Ds in GCSE English, History, Art & French and 2 Fs in GCSE science and home economics. I remember having a one on one with the careers advisor before leaving school (which we had to do) the result was very negative. Since then I have worked in two award-winning UK health spas, worked at sea onboard ships and abroad in Bermuda. Since getting into history and reading I have retaken my GCSEs via national extension college gaining an A in history and a B in English.
On leaving school in 1993 we were all given a 'record of achievement' file, with school reports included so that we could use it when attending interviews for further studies or work. After leaving college the record of achievement wasn't appropriate anymore but the idea of it was good so I bought a nice big file, which to put my school and college certificates in and since then have collected and filed all my academic and career certificates in there. After 20 years it's pretty hefty but my most treasured certificates are now my history ones.
FutureLearn came up in conversation one day and was recommended to me. I had a look at the website and liked how the courses are created and taught by university lecturers, they can be done anytime you can get online and are short sharp courses that last 3 to 6 weeks to give you a taste of a period or event in history.
With me being interested in the Tudor and Plantagenet period due to several historical fiction authors that I had read over the years, visiting places of interest and attending talks by historians, it was natural for me to join England in the Time of King Richard III. I have visited Richard’s childhood home at Middleham castle, visited the ‘Richard the III experience’ in York and also attended Leicester Cathedral the day before his re-internment where we saw his coffin lying in state for a few minutes before returning to the Cathedral at 1pm to attend the Eucharist service so we could spend more time with him.
I thought I would whizz through this course quite easily but actually, I came to learn new things too; topics included food and cooking, death and burial, manuscripts and texts during Richard’s reign. So even though I knew his story I learned more about daily life in that time and I passed with 88%.
I was very excited when I got my certificate in the post from Leicester University to put in my portfolio. It spurred me on to do another course which was Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite’s, this course would be completely different for me as I had no prior knowledge of the subject.
I found this subject very interesting, enlightening and refreshing. The way the course was set up was slightly different as it focused more on artefacts and objects to tell the story. Other learners recommended watching ‘outlander’ series which is set around this period and it completely got me hooked. Since then I have attended the exhibition at National Museums Scotland on Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite’s, I am reading the book by Jacqueline Ridings on this subject and am in the process of booking a Jacobite holiday in May to explore both Culloden and Prestonpans battlefields, to visit Edinburgh Castle, Palace at Holyrood house and join an outlander tour bus for the day.
My next course is Beyond the Ballot that starts in February and begins with the suffragette movement.
Inspired by Zara’s story?
Explore the courses she took:
Beyond the Ballot: Women’s Rights and Suffrage from 1866 to Today
Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite’s
England in the Time of King Richard III
Or browse all history courses.