Key Stage 2 history · British history

KS2 Alfred the Great and Athelstan: a guide for parents

Children in Key Stage 2 who study the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for England usually meet Alfred the Great, who held off the Vikings in Wessex, and his grandson Athelstan, often called the first king of England. The main skill is judging significance: whose actions mattered most, at the time and afterwards, and how we can tell from the evidence.

Alfred the Great and Athelstan, explained

By the late 870s the Vikings had taken Northumbria, East Anglia and much of Mercia, and only Wessex, in the south and west, was still ruled by an Anglo-Saxon king. Alfred became king of Wessex in AD 871, after his brother died, and spent much of his reign defending it. In early 878 a Viking army under Guthrum attacked suddenly at Chippenham. Alfred withdrew with a small group to the marshes of Somerset, gathered men from the nearby areas and, in May 878, defeated Guthrum at the Battle of Edington. Guthrum agreed to leave Wessex and to be baptised as a Christian.

The story of the burnt cakes is a famous one, but it first appears in writing about a hundred years or more after Alfred’s death, so historians treat it as legend. What he did next is better evidence of why he is remembered. He built burhs, fortified towns where people could shelter and soldiers could be based. He reorganised the army so that men took turns serving, and he ordered ships to be built. He also collected laws and encouraged learning, bringing in scholars and having important books translated from Latin into English. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was first put together in his reign. Some years after Edington, Alfred and Guthrum made a treaty that set a border between Wessex’s lands and the area under Viking rule, later called the Danelaw.

Alfred’s son Edward and his daughter Æthelflæd, who ruled Mercia after her husband’s death, pushed back the Vikings further. His grandson Athelstan was crowned king in AD 925 at Kingston upon Thames. In AD 927 he took York from the Viking rulers and was accepted as king by other rulers in Britain. This is why he is often called the first king of England: he ruled most of what became England as one kingdom. In AD 937 he won the Battle of Brunanburh against an alliance of the Viking king of Dublin, the king of the Scots and the king of Strathclyde. The curriculum lists “resistance by Alfred the Great and Athelstan” as an example, so many schools teach both, though they choose how.

Both men are described as “great” or “successful” in the sources, but children are asked to look at who wrote them. The main account of Alfred’s life was written by a Welsh churchman called Asser, who worked for the king and clearly admired him. The Chronicle tells the story from the West Saxon side. That does not make the sources wrong, but it does mean children should ask what is left out. The title “the Great” was added long after his death.

Words your child will hear

Wessex: The kingdom of the West Saxons in southern England, ruled by Alfred.
Burh: A fortified Anglo-Saxon town built for defence against Viking attacks.
Treaty: A formal agreement between two sides, often to end a fight.
Baptised: Welcomed into the Christian Church, usually by being blessed with water.
Significance: How important a person or event was, judged by the effects it had at the time and later.
Legend: A story from the past that may be partly true but is mixed with imagination.
Biography: An account of a person’s life, written by someone else.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 2 says:

Pupils should be taught about the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor
Pupils should note connections, contrasts and trends over time and develop the appropriate use of historical terms.
Pupils should construct informed responses that involve thoughtful selection and organisation of relevant historical information.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

A worked enquiry

How significant was Alfred the Great?

Choose criteria for “significant”. Ask three questions: did he change things at the time, did the change last, and did it affect many people?
At the time. Alfred stopped Wessex from falling to the Vikings, which was a great achievement given that every other English kingdom had been taken over or badly weakened. He won at Edington in 878, Guthrum was baptised, and the two later agreed a border by treaty.
Lasting effects. Several burhs, such as Oxford and Wallingford, grew into towns that still exist, and the more organised army and navy helped his family win back land. His encouragement of reading and writing in English helped keep the language in written use.
Limits. Alfred never ruled all of England; much of the east and north stayed under Viking rule in his lifetime. It was his grandson Athelstan who reached that point.
Weigh the evidence. Most of what we know comes from the Chronicle and from Asser, who worked for him. Treat them as useful but friendly sources.

Alfred was very significant. He saved Wessex from the Vikings, built defences and towns, supported learning and gave his family the base from which England was later united. However, he did not rule all of England himself, and much of our evidence comes from writers who admired him.

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking Alfred was king of all England

The title “the Great” and the story of saving the country suggest he ruled all of it.

What helps: Show Wessex on a map. Explain that England as a single kingdom came later, under Athelstan, his grandson.

Believing the story of the burnt cakes is a proven fact

It is repeated in many children’s books as if it were a record from Alfred’s time.

What helps: Ask “When was this first written down?” Show that the earliest sources do not mention it, so it may be a later legend.

Thinking Athelstan is a minor figure compared with Alfred

Alfred is better known, and the name Athelstan appears less in stories.

What helps: Compare them on a timeline: Alfred defended Wessex (about AD 871 to 899), Athelstan ruled over most of England (AD 925 to 939). Ask who might be more significant for the idea of England.

Assuming the Vikings left England after Alfred’s victory at Edington

Textbooks present a battle as a clear end to a story.

What helps: Explain that Guthrum’s army settled in East Anglia, that a later treaty set a border with the Viking-ruled lands in the north and east, and that Viking rulers still held York until Athelstan took it in AD 927.

How to help at home

Draw the map before and after. Sketch England around AD 878, shading the Viking areas and Wessex, then around AD 927 after Athelstan. Compare them to see how things changed.
Build a burh. Make a simple model of a fortified town with a bank, a wall and a gate from card or building blocks. Ask your child how it would help people in a time of raids.
Legend or evidence? Tell your child the burnt cakes story and ask how we could check whether it is true. This is a good, quick way to practise asking about sources.
Hero or helped by others? Ask your child to list people who helped Alfred and Athelstan, such as soldiers, scholars, family members and Æthelflæd. Discuss how historians decide how much credit one person deserves.

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Medieval Britain 1066 to 1509
Key Stage 3: Tudors and Stuarts: Britain 1509 to 1745
Key Stage 3: Britain 1745 to 1901: industry and empire
Key Stage 3: Britain and the world, 1901 to today
Key Stage 3: The Holocaust