Sophomores are attending a series of 10 supplemental history classes that will cover both additional content and test-taking skills that the World and Europe II course does not teach, to prepare the students for the upcoming AP European History exam.

This is the first year that the history department has offered these after-school workshops to fully prepare sophomores for the exam.

Although the AP European History course is not taught at the school, the history department hopes that these classes will allow students to be confident to take the exam. The after-school workshops provide students with a chance to take an AP history exam during their sophomore year, while most get their first chance junior year.

“The classes and test are meant to give sophomores who are really strong history students an opportunity to get some external validation, something that they can show to colleges that they are devoting their time and energy to history studies,” said history teacher Celia Goedde, who is teaching the classes.

The course will include a focus on the Renaissance, Reformation and Cold War, in addition to intensive practice centered around document-based questions and essay writing, Goedde said. The 24 students enrolled in the prep classes are assigned weekly reading in both an art history and college-level textbook.

The broad political, social, cultural and economic themes will be discussed at the weekly Wednesday meetings.

“I think that reading about each topic, discussing it and then writing about it solidifies the information in the brain nicely,” Goedde said.

In addition to providing an accomplishment for college admissions, the classes and exams are a way for students interested in history to further their studies.

“I’m really enjoying history this year, and I wanted something that would allow me to challenge myself further. I thought the AP Euro test would be the next step in doing that,” Allison Gorohovsky ’17 said.