TALKS, living history demonstrations and writing seminars make up the schools programme for this year’s Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival.

The schools programme was launched at the festival for the first time last year and was so successful that this year it has been extended from two days to three, with events aimed at children in school years 6, 10 and 12.

Dan Snow starts of the programme for Year 12s on June 23 with History: The Greatest and Most Important Subject Ever, which is followed by The Origins of the American Civil War by Dr Peter Caddick-Adams; War and Gold: A History of Money by Kwasi Kwarteng MP; and The Mystery of the Mary Rose by Mary Kinoulty and Trevor Sapey.

Other talks include Elizabeth I by Dr Anna Whitelock; Britain, the Aeroplane and the Cold War by James Holland; The Ark Before Noah by Irving Finkel; Why Everyone Loves History (even if they don’t know it) by Chris Lloyd; The Unification of Italy by David Gilmour and The Norman Conquest by Dr Marc Morris.

The Year 10 programme includes Walking the Western Front by Dr Caddick-Adams; The Golden Thread by Tom Holland; The 1930s and the Road to War by James Holland and Victoria Bogue; The Emancipation of Women by Ros Liddington; and Life in Nelson’s Navy by Dr Sam Willis. Professor David Edgerton will be discussing Post-War Britain: The Warfare State, which will be followed by The First World War by Professor Margaret MacMillan; Junk History by Guy Walters; The Cold War by Professor Peter Hennessy; The Spanish Armada by Robert Hutchinson and Walking the Western Front by Dr Caddick-Adams.

Both days will see a Tudor warfare demonstration; Operation Nightingale: Spitfire by The Rifles; a Medieval longbow demonstration; a Medieval Apothecary Mary Rose display; a Second World War field hospital and Red Ball Express; historic cars from Wilton House and a First World War trench.

There is a range of living history events taking place on June 25 for Year 6s, including Roman Centurian, Medieval Apothecary, The Longbow from the 100 Years War, Tudor Warfare, Mary Rose, Anglo-Saxon Long Hall, and a weapons display and field hospital from the Second World War.

Talks include Historical Doodles by Martin Brown, illustrator of Horrible Histories; Romans: Underneath our Feet by Ros Liddington; and The First World War: Where the Poppies Now Grow by Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey. For more information, visit cvhf.org.uk.