Front page news – History Club scoop national award
Children from Year 5 at All Saints’ have won a prestigious national competition and have hit the front page of the Ilkley Gazette.
Over the past academic year, the Year 5 students at All Saints’ C of E Primary school have been working on a history project in connection with The Western Front Association. All their hard work and dedication was recently rewarded when the school found out they had won first place in the primary school category. The children conducted research into names of World War 1 soldiers taken from the All Saints’ Church memorial plaque or the names of family members with a local connection to the area. The project started through a unit of planned work focused on the life of a soldier born and raised in Ilkley, Private Frederick Bott. Original documentation was found and presented to the children, such as baptism and marriage certificates, census records and service records. The children used these to gain an understanding of what life would be like in Ilkley around the time of the war. The children became so invested in the project, they continued researching other soldiers, and a nurse from Ilkley, to build further knowledge and understanding of how the war changed the lives of the Ilkley community. They gave up their own time and worked during lunch times and after school to build a portfolio of information. Many local residents were on hand to pass on information and the school built connections with the Bradford History Society, who worked with the children on building family trees. In November, the children attended the Remembrance service at All Saints’ Church and impressed the congregation with their new knowledge of the soldiers. The children treated the project with great dignity and respect and surprised their teachers with the commitment they had to building a story for each of the soldiers studied. Their full project is displayed on the school website.
Alongside winning £500 for the school, a small number of children have been invited to London in November, where they will join The Western Front Association in their annual parade and service. They will also be laying a wreath at the cenotaph. The project impressed the judges so much, the school has been invited to apply for the History Quality Mark, which evidences excellent teaching and learning in history.
You can view their project submission by clicking here.