The project was successful in informing pupils and teachers about history local to the area. Many teachers commented that not only the pupils but they too had learnt a great deal about the industry that they never knew before.

It was nice to see pupils relate what they had learnt from the women chain makers campaign to their own campaigns and projects in school. They found a variety of methods to get their opinions across to others by creating posters, holding debates, to giving talks and demonstrations. The standard of work from the three participating schools not only in the drama workshops but also their own campaign work was excellent, it has hopefully also awakened an interest in local history which they can also share with their own family.

Drama is a useful tool in the teaching of history, which is not, used nearly enough. Teachers who have little drama experience find it frightening and lack the confidence to use the art form in their lessons. It does however provide the opportunity for all pupils from the most confident to the more nervous and from the academic the least academic the chance to work together on an equal footing. The inclusion of artefacts, pictures, documents, photographs, music etc can all contribute to a multi-sensory learning experience, it helps to bring the history to life and make for a memorable learning experience. I have worked with pupils from one of the schools involved again since the project and their recall of detail relating to the chain makers was astounding.

The demand for the project outweighed the amount of funding; it was difficult to turn so many schools away that had expressed an interest in the project. I am grateful to the Joan Lewin Bursary, the Historical Association, Dudley Performing Arts and for enabling me to create and run such an enjoyable and rewarding project and would relish the opportunity to create a similar project in the future. Thanks must also go to the Jo Moody from the Black Country Living Museum and the staff at Dudley Archives.