A ready-to-use history resource exploring famous Victorian sporting personalities through evaluation, comparison, discussion, and reasoning activities.

Featured sporting personalities:

• W. G. Grace
• Matthew Webb
• Bob Fitzsimmons
• Arthur Wharton
• Ada Anderson
• Lottie Dod

Activity 1 –Ranking and Discussion
Pupils rank important qualities needed by Victorian athletes
Encourages discussion and justification skills

Activity 2 – Comparison and Evaluation
Comparison chart examining:
achievements
challenges
legacy
Ranking task: most inspiring sporting personality
Sentence starters included

Activity 3 – Qualitative Skills Task
Pupils evaluate which qualities mattered most in Victorian sport
Links achievements to qualities such as courage and resilience
Model answer included

Activity 4 – Creative Presentation Task
Pupils present one sporting personality through:
poster
article
speech
podcast interview
Includes discussion of AI-generated historical posters

Additional Features
Model answers included
Suitable for mixed ability classes
Encourages discussion and evidence-supported reasoning