Historian gives his verdict

Sixth-formers quizzed distinguished historian Corelli Barnett CBE on his trenchant views when he came to give a lecture on post-war Britain.

Corelli Barnett is a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge, and former Keeper of the Churchill Archives Centre. He is famous for his study of the cause of the decline of the British Empire, explored in his Pride and Fall sequence. His latest book is The Verdict of Peace.

His lecture to the School's Barker Society was well-attended and the young historians seized the opportunity to discuss his views that post-war Britain has been "overstretched and under-performing".

After delivering his informative and amusing talk, he took questions from the floor and was happy to stay on to chat to pupils.

Helena McColl (U6) said: "It is great to have the chance to ask a historian questions and to be challenged about what we thought we knew about the past."