Project in Practice

Education Consultant: Jill Hutchinson, River and Rowing Museum
Partner: River and Rowing Museum
Participant School: Mabel Prichard Special Educational Needs School
Key Stages: 2 – 3
Project Period: 2007-08

This school project compared buildings in Burford and Henley-on-Thames. The project was based on academic research by Dr Antonia Catchpole, Dr Robert Peberdy and David Clark (for the EPE publication Burford: Buildings and People in a Cotswold Town), and Dr Simon Townley (for the EPE publication Town and River: A History of Henley-on-Thames).

Starting at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley, pupils from Mabel Prichard School (Oxford) had the opportunity to investigate Burford and Henley through field trips, engaging with artifacts and discovering ‘treasures’ in both towns and along the river.

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Valerie Wardlaw and Jill Hutchinson describe the project in the short article below.

The Silver Class (Key Stage 3) teacher, from Mabel Prichard School, said this about the project:

As I had hoped, the students got a lot out of the experience. They learnt how to look at the environment more closely through the study of buildings, observation and practical activities. These were pitched and differentiated to suit the special needs of my students. As a result every student was able to recall some experience from the project when asked, and all were positive responses.

Museum Partnership Provides New Experiences for Pupils

by Valerie Wardlaw and Jill Hutchinson, River and Rowing Museum (Henley-on-Thames). EPE News, Winter 2008.

The Oxfordshire school project was developed with a class of pupils from Mabel Prichard School, an inner city SEN school in Oxford, in partnership with staff from the River and Rowing Museum, Henley. The aim was to engage the pupils with the history of Henley-on-Thames and Burford through the buildings and the materials from which they are made, in a cross-curricular approach. The pupils visited Henley 5 times, including going to the weekly market, the church, a train journey and a boat trip. They participated in practical activities at the River and Rowing Museum during each trip; designed to build on their experiences outdoors. In addition, museum staff visited the school twice and the school visited Burford independently.

The pupils were encouraged to use all their senses and to photograph and record their experiences. The pupils really enjoyed experiencing the ‘real thing’, touching the flint and stone of the church, making bricks, hearing the bustle and sounds of the market, and capturing the excitement of a train and boat journey (something which none of them had ever experienced before).

Although the students were Key Stage 3 in age, the activities were developed to support the teaching of History, Geography, Art and English at Key Stages 1 and 2, and aimed to bring the curriculum to life. The project resulted in eight lesson plans describing the weekly activities. These included: using the buildings to stimulate creative writing; creating talking books composed of sound poems; making wattle and daub and bricks; designing stained glass windows. The resulting EPE school material includes timelines and illustrated walks around the two towns, with accompanying worksheets for pupils.