In previous years the Summer School has been taught in person at Keele University, and since the Covid-19 pandemic has also been offered to those wishing to attend online. Unfortunately, Keele University has not been able to commit to holding the Summer School this year because of financial constraints. The School will be held by The Ranulf Higden Society in an online form only. In other respects, the School will remain the same. It will be taught in several small groups where the tutors and students engage in working through the teaching material in an interactive manner, discussing matters of interest. The emphasis is very much on learning the skills in reading and transcribing documents and so involves a lot of active participation.
The approach is serious but friendly and attracts a wide range of people from both the UK and abroad: national, local, and family historians, along with archive students and postgraduate researchers. Many return year after year, taking the opportunity to seek advice from tutors and fellow students on their own research interests and problems.
The tutors all have considerable experience in teaching adult groups and have their own expertise in a wide range of topics, beyond palaeography. They include archivists, university lecturers and specialist researchers and tutors.
Who comes to the Summer School?
Many students return on a regular basis – but not because they are slow learners; on the contrary, they have become rather skilled palaeographers but wish to experience the problems of reading and interpreting different kinds of documents. Several have published editions of documents, often as part of county record series.
Many people are actively involved in local history projects, sometimes on their own account or because they are involved with a Victoria County History project. Others need reading skills to undertake original research for university post-graduate degrees, or to enhance their career in an archive office (or prepare for an archive qualification course).
Financial assistance.
Some financial assistance might be available in the form of a limited number of ‘Higden Scholarships’ provided by the Ranulf Higden Society. Those wishing to apply should contact Nigel Tringham. In past years many university students and archivists have successfully applied to their institutions to cover the costs of the summer school, which offers valuable professional training, and we strongly encourage potential students in such situations to do so.