Children at King Edward’s Junior School recreated 458 years of King Edward’s history on Thursday 25^th February.

Surrounded by modern buildings and enjoying all the benefits of computer technology, making history meaningful to today’s children can be a difficult task. Mrs Gill Oliver, Extra Curricular Activities Co-ordinator at King Edward’s Junior School, took up the challenge to help pupils at King Edward’s Junior School understand the many changes that have happened over the course of the last 458 years since the School began.

Mrs Oliver’s solution was to involve the whole school in a day of history which took place on Thursday 25^th February. Every child at the school contributed to the creation of an illustrated timeline and also a House banner, which will show many of the important events since the School began.

Every class focused on a specific period in the School’s history:

Class 6S: 1552 – 1597
Class 4M: 1598 --1642
Class 6H: 1643 – 1689
Class 4R: 1690 – 1735
Class 3J: 1736 – 1781
Class 60: 1782 – 1827
Class 3L: 1828 – 1873
Class 5B: 1874 – 1919
Class 5C: 1920 – 1965
Class 5S: 1966 – 2010

At the end of the day, the whole school placed their timelines together to chart the whole 458 years of the School’s history. The timeline will be displayed for everyone to see in the central atrium of the Junior School. Lunch was a special tudor banquet of; Peasants Pottage, King’s meat pie and vegetables followed by Pommes tart and a selection of dried fruits. The children wore Tudor styled hats and their Headteacher, Mr Greg Taylor, dressed in Tudor costume.

Mrs Gill Oliver commented: “The aim of the day was to increase every child’s understanding of history and how it relates to them. The children investigated past events, helping them develop skills of enquiry and analysis. Deciding what to include and how to present the information increased their interpretation and communication skills as well as their ability to problem solve. It was quite a day but by the end of it the children really understand their School’s story.”