Clare Horrie, Education Web Manager at The National Archives, Kew

For anyone studying Cambridge OCR A Level History, the National Archives Education website is a goldmine. The huge collection of digital resources based on original sources from our collections can support classroom learning and non-exam assessment (NEA) – and it’s all completely free. 

As an ex-teacher, I’m delighted to share our exciting archive with teachers and students. In this blog I’ll introduce The National Archives, outline the resources we have and suggest some ways of using them.

What are The National Archives?

The National Archives are the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. We are the guardians of over 1,000 years of renowned national documents. Our role is to collect and secure the future of the government record, from William the Conqueror’s Domesday Book to archived social media messages from Downing Street. We preserve these records for generations to come and make them as accessible as possible. 

How can students use National Archives collections?

History without sources is unimaginable. Students can use The National Archives Education website to find and explore a huge array of original historical documents to explore, particularly when researching their own history NEA. 

All our resources are mapped to the history curriculum from Key Stage 1 to Key stage 5. That means our material covers a vast chronological sweep from medieval times to post-1945 and right up to the present day. 

We match our resources to history topics and potential NEA subjects at GCSE and A Level, as summarised in our handy guide for students and teachers. We will continue to add to these lists. 

Themed collections 

Our themed collections of original documents allow A Level students to develop their own questions and lines of enquiry, focused on their NEA coursework topic. For example, if you are working on an enquiry about Elizabeth I, our themed collection offers unprecedented and extensive access to the queen’s own words. It contains 40 unique documents from The National Archives State Papers collection, each transcribed, available to read in high definition, accompanied by audio files. The records cover the broad span of Elizabeth’s reign and reveal her as sovereign in a male world. 

Alternatively, if you are working on a Cold War topic, you will find a host of documents in our cold war collection. 

Lessons 

Students could also search our lessons. These are specific investigations, based on original sources, linked to the history exam specifications to inspire your NEA. For example, one lesson covers the British Government’s perspective on the Cultural Revolution in China. 

Interpreting documents 

Once you have found relevant documents you may need some help to interpret them. There are resources to help you in the ‘For students’ section on the home page. For example, there’s a list of questions you could ask about a document. In the student area we also have resources to improve your source skills when working with original cartoons, photographs, telegrams and posters. 

Document references 

What’s the difference between a State Paper and a Home Office document? 

Every document on the website has a unique document reference. This reference not only helps you find it in the online catalogue, but offers insight into the type of document you are investigating. For example, a reference beginning FO indicates a document issued by the British Foreign Office. 

Understanding the different government departments and their roles at the time can help students understand and interpret the content. Consider these codes and the government collection they represent: PREM, WO, CO, FCO, HO, SP, WORK, LAB, CO, T, ASSI, CO, C, E.

More resources

Video guides 

The Spotlight on collection is a series of video guides based on a specific National Archives collection. These can be really helpful for developing your NEA. For example, find out what the King’s Bench (KB) collection is or what records are held by the Colonial Office (CO). 

In each video guide, a specialist presenter introduces a National Archives collection and highlights a document from it connected to your history course. Plus, there is a linked lesson activity based on the video documents for a closer look. 

Examples range from Anne Boleyn’s trial to the Brixton Riots, and we continue to add to this. 

The National Archives blogs 

Our blogs are a chance to read the stories behind documents in our collection, learn more about our research and share our news and case studies. We launched new blogs in June 2025, but all our earlier blogs from 2012 are available in the UK Government Web Archive. Use them to find original sources for your NEA.

The National Archives Research guides 

Our online research guides can help if you are using Discovery, the National Archives online catalogue for research and want to come to The National Archives to order the originals with a readers’ ticket.

Our onsite Education Service for schools

We offer free history workshops for Key Stages 1-5 both at our Kew site and online. These allow you to explore documents from our extensive collections in detail and get ‘hands on’ with history led by experienced teachers. 

To encourage as many students as possible to experience our workshops, we have a bursary scheme to help eligible schools with the cost of travel and teacher cover.

Stay connected

Have any queries about Cambridge OCR history qualifications? You can email us at history@ocr.org.uk, call us on 01223 553998 or message us on X @OCR_History. 

You can also sign up to subject emails to keep up to date with our latest news, updates and resources.

If you are considering teaching any of our qualifications, use the online form to let us know, so we can help you with more information.

About the author

Clare Horrie is the Education Web Manager at The National Archives. Previously a secondary school head of history, she is delighted to collaborate on, research, and develop content to support the curriculum at The National Archives: “It is like being a child in a sweet shop!”. She has co-authored several books using collections at The National Archives. Please contact her directly at clare.horrie@nationalarchives.gov.uk for any specific queries.