News Article

Bedford Modern Junior School Year 5 pupils took part in a Build a Tudor House workshop on Tuesday 2nd March.  The event ran from 9.00am until 3.30pm in the Christopher Fry Hall at the School and was led by Charlie Lupton from Build a Tudor House (www.buildatudorhouse.co.uk)

 

Pupils were able to see history come to life with the Build a Tudor House day, specifically designed for Key Stage 2 History curriculum.  The Year 5 pupils gained hands-on experience of building a piece of "living" history, using learning styles to solve problems as they worked as a team, enjoying themselves and learning history. 

By becoming master craftsmen for the day, pupils assembled a Tudor House using 97 pieces of wood, measuring 3m x 2m.  Once completed, the Tudor House was large enough for 30 children to sit inside.  Part of the activities involved with the Build a Tudor House workshop included using carpenters' marks to assemble the Tudor House from pieces of wood; making wattle panels and daubing them and shaping the pegs used to pin the houses together.

Joanna Rex, Deputy Head of Bedford Modern Junior School said: "This was a wonderful opportunity to bring history alive for the children.  To be given a chance to help build a Tudor House that is one third actual size was a particularly exciting prospect.  Charlie Lupton was excellent!"

Charley-Ella Knights-Nizzardi, a Year 5 pupil said: "I really enjoyed building the Tudor House and using different beams that each had different names.  I also liked laying the tiles and thatching.  By taking part in the Tudor House workshop activities I learnt a lot about history instead of just reading about it in a book."

Harry Beard, another Year 5 pupil added: "I used tools to strip away the wood and make pegs to keep the house together.  Overall, the whole Tudor House workshop was fun and I learnt a lot about the Tudors and their lifestyle."