The Ryburn Valley High School History Olympics tested students' problem-solving skills as well as their speed.

The Year 9 students had to work in teams in each event, which included relay, sprint, egg and spoon and triathlon.

Two boys and two girls from each form worked together to solve a murder mystery and work out if man really did land on the moon using sources of evidence.

History teacher Laura Towler said: "They had to use evidence to back up their arguments. It was a reflection of how far they have come in the three years they have been in the school.

"It got them out of the classroom and using their history skills but not necessarily in an academic way. They learnt about team work – they needed fast runners, people who were organised and those who could visualise as well as being bright.

"It showed that different learning styles can access history."

In the relay event the students raced down the sports hall collecting clues to solve a murder mystery. In the sprint they used sources of evidence to work out whether man had really landed on the moon.

In the eggheads round they answered questions using video, CDs and the internet, and in the triathlon they looked at famous pictures and found the odd one out and the missing words from a piece of text.

The topics ranged from 1066 to World War Two and Anne Frank.

It is hoped the History Olympics will become an annual event.


Some of the questions children faced
1 What was the name of the Captain of Titanic?
2 Who was assassinated in 1914, sparking a chain of events that led to the First World War?
3 What disease spread through Europe in the 19th century, pushing the Government into creating the first ever Public Health Act?
4 What name was given to the men who smashed up machines in the early 1800s because they were upset by their introduction?
5 Who appears on the £20 note, and what is he famous for?
6 Who succeeded Elizabeth I to the throne?
7 How did Jack the Ripper address the police chief in his letters?
8 What aid to farming was invented by Jethro Tull?
9 When and where was JFK assassinated?
10 In which British city did the Peterloo Massacre take place?
11 In what year was Everest conquered and who conquered it?
12 Miss Towler's birthday is July 29 – BUT which Italian dictator does she share her birthday with?
13 Which countries were involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis, and who were the presidents of these countries?
14 What year did Muhammad Ali win his gold medal? What happened to it?


Answers
1 Edward J Smith
2 Franz Ferdinand
3 Cholera
4 Luddites
5 Adam Smith, Scottish economist and philosopher
6 James I
7 Dear Boss
8 Seed drill
9 November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas
10 Manchester
11 1953, Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay
12 Benito Mussolini
13 Cuba, USA, Soviet Union. Castro, Kennedy, Khrushchev
14 1960. He threw it into the Ohio River after being refused service at a "whites-only" restaurant.