Our ancestors from these shores have populated a large part of the globe. Now you can learn more about those who ended up in two of the most popular destinations — America and Australia — with brand new emigration records.

No family stands still, so immigration and emigration records form a vital part of your discoveries. If you have family that came to the UK from abroad, you should have already explored our UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960. We have equally comprehensive records revealing the people who travelled in the opposite direction — and those are what we’ve added to with our latest releases.

If your forebears started new lives in the United States, you should be able to find them in our huge selection of American records — ranging from the War of Independence to the modern day. The US Immigration & Naturalisation Collection, 1790-1974, already includes over 100 million records. Now we’ve added new naturalisation records from Utah, Florida and Delaware.

These Government records were created when your ancestors committed themselves as permanent citizens of the United States. They’re incredibly detailed, providing names, addresses, dates and ports of arrival, and even personal descriptions.

What if your family was among the thousands that upped sticks to Australia? Australia, National Immigration Collection, 1792-1957, includes a huge variety of records of both free travellers and convicts — revealing both sides of the nation’s epic history.

It’s time to get back in the classroom! Forget algebra and the Periodic Table though — we’re going to teach you everything you need to discover more about your family’s past.

We’ve put together a full week’s timetable of ‘lessons’, to show you how to make more of our key records and most useful features. From building your family tree and searching censuses on Monday, to using occupation and worldwide records on Friday, there’s something new to learn every day.

Each period includes ‘new starter’ and ‘top set’ tutorials, so you can learn new skills however much experience you already have. At the end of each lesson you’ll find a short ‘homework assignment’ — these let you try out our tips and tricks while exploring our record collections.

Make sure you keep a note of your answers, because you’ll need them at the end of the week. We’ll be testing you on what you’ve learnt, to find out whether you’re a family history boffin, or you need a bit of private tuition.

Once you’ve completed your lessons each day, check out our after-school club at our Facebook page. You can chat about the day’s lessons with fellow students and even compare homework notes — but don’t give away the answers, unless you want detention!

Plus, look out for ‘free periods’ every day. Rather than just lounging about in a common room, you can take advantage of some cracking competitions and great giveaways — we’ll give you more details through the week.

Term starts on 12th September. Don’t be late!

Discovering your family’s past is a personal hobby. But sharing it with others can make it even more fun — and give you new leads and ideas for your search. We’ve provided a few different places online to help you do exactly that.

The first of these places is our blog. We regularly post articles to let you know what’s happening, both on our site and in the wider family history world. We also invite guest bloggers, from partners like The National Archives to experienced Ancestry.co.uk Advocates.

Any time you have something to share, you can comment on these articles. You might want to give us your opinion, tell us about a recent discovery or ask a related question. You’ll usually find that you get a rapid response, from either us or another keen member.

For even more chances to chat, try our Facebook page. We have a growing community of Facebook friends — to join in just click the button to Like us.

You can then post comments and questions on anything that takes your fancy, or respond to other members’ comments. We have interesting conversations about everything from our latest record releases to the day’s news. Plus, we regularly arrange special Facebook events — we recently invited Tony Robinson to spend a morning answering members’ questions on occupation records.

If your question doesn't appear here, you can email our Member Services team at support@ancestry.co.uk or call 0800 404 9723, and they'll help you with your research.

This month’s questions are answered by professional genealogist Doreen Hopwood and military historian Paul Reed.

Doreen Hopwood is a professional genealogist for the City of Birmingham. She regularly talks at family history events around the country, and lectures in social history at Birmingham University.

Paul Reed is one of the UK’s leading military historians. He has written books on both World Wars, and contributes regularly to family history magazines. He also works as a historical consultant for the BBC, on programmes including Who Do You Think You Are? and My Family At War.