You know how keen your Y7 pupils are when they arrive, so why not strike while the iron’s hot and encourage them to read a novel about the Battle of Hastings. Because the reading level is similar to what they would have encountered at the end of KS2 it will be a realistic proposition for most pupils and certainly as inclusive as any novels you’ll find on this topic. The author Tony Bradman is one I would certainly recommend.
The book is published by Walker Books ISBN978-1-4063-6377-7 who offer the following blurb.
The story is of one Anglo-Saxon boy’s journey to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It starts in 1065:Magnus is the son of Harold Godwinson, lord of the Southern Saxons and ruthlessly ambitious claimant to the throne of England. Overnight, Magnus finds himself cast centre-stage in the blood-soaked family feud that led to one of history’s most famous battles. This is the family tragedy behind 1066: live it with Magnus, as the wolves of history close in on his Anglo-Saxon boyhood.
