History lesson sees students armed to the teeth (From Cotswold Journal)

History lesson sees students armed to the teeth

10:58am Tuesday 21st October 2008 in News By Daniel Fawbert Mills

WEAPONS, armour and clothing from the 17th century found its way into the hands of pupils from The Cotswold School this week.

But it’s not because the students were up to no good, expert historian David Lord from the Sealed Knot Re-enactment Group had come in to talk to the youngsters on the topic of the English Civil War, roughly 1641-1651.

The event formed part of the school’s history syllabus, and head of history Ben Edwards said it was such a popular way of engaging students this was the second year in a row they had done it.

He said: “David brought in a pike, a musket and various other bits of weaponry and clothing to talk to Year 8 students, aged 12 to 13-years-old, about the fighting that took place during the English Civil War.

“He does this by assuming a character from the time period and talking students through the battle as if he was there himself.

“We found this is a really good way of engaging pupils and is a way of teaching that really brings the topic to life.

“All the students were excited by the experience, and no stone was left unturned as David gave them all the gory details.”