The Heritage Lottery Project “Life and Death in Hampstead” – a partnership between Hampstead Parish Church and Camden Council – started encouraging groups of children to visit the ABG to look at bugs, butterflies and gravestones.
As part of the Festival and to draw children’s attention to the history of their community and to the fascinating lives of the people who might have been their neighbours, Chris Money, Marilyn Brooks and Sheena Ginnings have set up the Schools Project aimed at primary school children. Fifteen graves in the ABG have been chosen for the Project. The personalities include chimney sweeps, a suffragette, an inventor, a cookery writer and a pearly king and queen.
As 2012 is also the year of the Olympics we have chosen as a theme “Inspiration” – one of the values of the Paralympic Games – and we hope children and teachers will be inspired by the lives of the personalities we have chosen. So far si schools have expressed an interest in taking part.
We will be preparing packs for each school which will be sent out in January and a team of researchers has been set up to help source interesting topics and information.
The Project will be based around the national curriculum and aims to encourage discovery, develop children’s research skills and for the children taking part to have fun. Each school will prepare a portfolio of work and activities based around the personalities they choose, which will be displayed as part of the Festival. The Project will culminate in a Schools Day on the first day of the Festival and children will come for a fun day at the Church to see each others’ work, meet other children and take part in some fun activities.
We are very grateful to lots of people for their help and advice and particularly Simon Atkinson the Headteacher of Hampstead Parochial School for all his help, support, creative ideas and enthusiasm.
If you would like to know more please contact Chris Money or Marilyn Brooks who are coordinating the Schools Project.
Chris Money / Marilyn Brooks / Sheena Ginnings
Flower Festival 2012 – The Schools Project