The Huge History Lesson is a competition run by the British Museum and the TES aimed at helping teachers make use of cultural resources. Our competition entry focused on the Gloster Aircraft Factory, which was based on the site that our school is now built on.
For our submission, I contacted the Jet Age Museum in Gloucester. Education co-ordinator Trevor Davies gave us a workshop tour of an old Typhoon fighter plane and put us in touch with ex-factory workers who had built those planes.
The children produced a video about the history of the Typhoon, with interviews and footage of a plane being restored, interspersed with re-enactments of its story.
One of the highlights was the staff producing a Typhoon seat for them to try.
We actually won the competition and enjoyed a long, exciting, day at the British Museum where the children enjoyed handling prehistoric objects while the curatorial team helped them understand their chronology.
After lunch, we were shown round the prints room and compared other images of women in the second world war with our own findings. We then had cake with historian and broadcaster Dan Snow. The British Museum’s education manager Lizzie Edwards was magnificent throughout; she had real skill in running with children’s passions while using her own knowledge to excite them.
The visit demonstrated to the children that historical research and curatorial work are rewarding pursuits, and that imaginative efforts would be recognised.
The Jet Age Museum continues to help us alter our curriculum and is assisting us in turning part of our school-run community centre into a display on the history of the area and the Gloster Aircraft Company.
Ewan Johnson is a teacher at Coopers Edge School in Brockworth, Gloucestershire. Watch the winning video
For our submission, I contacted the Jet Age Museum in Gloucester. Education co-ordinator Trevor Davies gave us a workshop tour of an old Typhoon fighter plane and put us in touch with ex-factory workers who had built those planes.
The children produced a video about the history of the Typhoon, with interviews and footage of a plane being restored, interspersed with re-enactments of its story.
One of the highlights was the staff producing a Typhoon seat for them to try.
We actually won the competition and enjoyed a long, exciting, day at the British Museum where the children enjoyed handling prehistoric objects while the curatorial team helped them understand their chronology.
After lunch, we were shown round the prints room and compared other images of women in the second world war with our own findings. We then had cake with historian and broadcaster Dan Snow. The British Museum’s education manager Lizzie Edwards was magnificent throughout; she had real skill in running with children’s passions while using her own knowledge to excite them.
The visit demonstrated to the children that historical research and curatorial work are rewarding pursuits, and that imaginative efforts would be recognised.
The Jet Age Museum continues to help us alter our curriculum and is assisting us in turning part of our school-run community centre into a display on the history of the area and the Gloster Aircraft Company.
Ewan Johnson is a teacher at Coopers Edge School in Brockworth, Gloucestershire. Watch the winning video
