Visit up British Camp to help school explore the past

24th April 2015

As we have mentioned previously here on our blog, Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service has been helping a number of schools after the recent inclusion of Prehistory in the National Curriculum. With one school, Cradley primary, we were able to take advantage of their location to get out of the classroom and go up a significant historic monument on their doorstep.

Cradley Primary School’s classroom for the day, learning more about Prehistory at British Camp

. Justin Hughes, one of our community archaeologists, went into the school to run a session using replica artefacts to explain the changes between the different periods, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age. This allowed the children to get hands on and understand how tools and technology changed, as well as finding out how archaeologists can interpret the clues which they discover. He also brought along a reproduction drawing created from the evidence our archaeologists have found locally to show the class.

Justin getting hands on with some replica artefacts in class

. For our second session with the school we went out to British Camp in the Malvern Hills to explore the amazing Iron Age hillfort, only a short distance from the school. This enabled the children to understand both the defences and possible remains of roundhouses, which it can be easy to walk past if you are not looking for them.

The view from British Camp

Justin said, “We had a couple of great sessions with the children. It can be a difficult period to understand, but by using reproduction tools, reconstruction drawings and going up an Iron Age hillfort we can help them get a picture of what life would have been like here during those periods. Going up on to British Camp and recognising the archaeological clues gave them a great sense of how we can discover the past through visible archaeological remains. They also enjoyed getting outside and exploring the site”.

The children enjoyed having the chance to get out and explore the archaeology of their local area

If you would like to talk to us about what our Learning and Outreach team can do with your school please email explorethepast@worcestershire.gov.uk or phone 01905 766352.

Comments

Comments are closed.

Bickmarsh Hoard -The Coins

This is the second post in a three-part series exploring the remarkable ninth-century Bickmarsh Hoard discovered in Worcestershire. Catch up on part one. The discovery of the Bickmarsh Hoard in 2022 revealed a small but remarkable collection of ninth-century coins buried in the Worcestershire countryside over 1,100 years ago. In this second blog in our...

6th April 2026

Uncovering the Bickmarsh Hoard

A quiet field in south east Worcestershire. No visible traces of the past. No reason to expect what lay beneath. And then, a signal. Within hours, silver coins began to emerge from the soil, one after another, until it became clear that this was no isolated find, but part of a much larger story. By...

23rd March 2026

True Crimes

We are using some of the archival material that we hold to turn a spotlight onto True Crimes that have occured in this county. On Wednesday 15th April 2026 visitors can join us at The Hive for a fascinating evening looking at The case of Bella in the Wych Elm which has, for 83 years,...

News