History is taught as a core subject in Alexandra College from First to Fourth year, and is one of the Leaving Certificate subjects available to senior students. The study of history enhances the development of the individual; it promotes an open-minded approach, an awareness of diversity, an understanding and respect for people of other cultures, languages and religions, and an appreciation of the interdependence of nations.
The skills acquired by students studying history include the development of critical thinking, the ability to assemble convincing material to develop an argument or point of view; the ability to write; speak and think with clarity and authority on many and varied topics.
At Leaving Certificate level the new syllabus in history with its wide choice of topics provides the student with the opportunity for wide reading, information gathering, cogent reasoning and sustained argument, clear essay writing, research and the whole background to western culture, politics and the human condition. The students have the 
mushroomopportunity to study topics from Irish, European and American history. The course emphasizes the skills of the historian incorporating documents based study and individual student research topics. By engaging in research, history provides the students with skills for independent and self directed learning that is essential in their third level education.
It is a balance to other subjects and a basis from which other areas can develop – it is interesting to note just how many figures in public life, responsible positions, such as in law, the media, in management and education have qualifications which include history.
Methodology used in all classes from first to sixth year is drawn from various sources; text books, documents, specialist books, primary material where available, videos, use of the local and national library as well school library and files, the internet and occasional lectures, seminars and quizzes organised by the History Teachers Association of Ireland. Individual research projects are a common feature of the work in both first and fourth, and in the senior classes. The Transition Year students use their laptop computers for research and class presentations using Powerpoint or Keynote programmes. Class discussion is common to all years, with lively exchanges of points of view.
In 1921 Lady Ardilaun established the Ardilaun, an endowment which invited distinguished historians to the College to lecture on an aspect of European and later Irish history. A workshop enables sixth year students to work closely with the lecturer and examine the topic in greater depth. These public lectures are always well attended, and in recent years lectures have been given by leading Irish historians including Prof J J Lee, Prof Roy Foster and Dr Diarmaid Ferriter.
Outings and field trips are an important to the History Department of Alexandra College. Each year group undertakes at least one field trip, which can range from a visit to the National Museum in Kildare St by first year students, to the annual fifth year trip to destinations such as Moscow, St Petersburg in 2003 and 2005, to Beijing in 2006 and London in 2009. The girls find these outings both educational and very enjoyable.
History is an invigorating and enjoyable discipline with many applications and openings, above all it develops the enquiring mind the broad approach and the ability to investigate and articulate.