On the weekend of 25 September 2021, the long awaited residential to start the Local History Teacher Fellowship took place following over a year of delay due to the Covid pandemic. This will be followed by an online course before participants develop their learning into new teaching resources that will be shared by the HA and BALH.

The following is a round up of the weekend from the primary participants and course leader Bev Forrest.

A huge thank you to the HA and BALH for funding the Local History Teacher Fellowship. The residential was a great success. It was a delight to work with such an enthusiastic group of teachers and also alongside a brilliant team. Our group is varied in terms of background and experience and this will be a big positive – demonstrating how you can develop local history within your school whatever your level of expertise or locality. The group bonded well and it was lovely to see how affirming our most experienced secondary teachers were with the least experienced teachers.

I’m very much looking forward to the next phase. Everyone left buzzing (and exhausted) and ready for the online course. Look out for more news as the group progress through the online element of the course.

Bev Forrest, primary course leader

The residential was a unique experience that gave me many inspiring ideas to develop local history opportunities in primary school. In addition, it gave me the opportunity to meet new colleagues, make new friends and create a network with like-minded individuals. It is a privilege to be part of this journey and to work with such experienced experts in the field.

Matt Flynn, participant

On Saturday morning, we headed off to the Lincolnshire Archives, a treasure trove of historical sources with miles of shelving and countless boxes of stored documents. It was suggested that we may like to look up documents relating to our own families, should any of us have family from Lincolnshire. Thinking nothing of it, I texted my dad to find out if we did. It turns out we did! An hour later I had found several marriage and christening records relating to my paternal grandmother's family, the Woodwards, who were from a small village called Braceborough. The oldest document was the marriage certificate of my great-great-great-great-great grandfather William Woodwards who married Ann Stapleton in 1811! I am so excited to bring the magical feelings found in the archives to the children at my school. Thank you Lincolnshire Archives for a wonderful experience.

Tom Rous, participant

The residential has turned my approach to teaching Local History on its head. I started the weekend worrying that I didn't have any 'exciting' local history to focus on compared to other members of the fellowship. Over the weekend I came to realise that finding out about the 'ordinary' lives, buildings and streets in my area would be interesting and significant for the children and teachers. The residential also made me see how you could teach the British History topics through a local perspective which would help to anchor the children's understanding of the topics. I now can't wait to get started!

Susannah Russell, participant

Having spent the weekend immersed in historical sources and possible approaches to use in the classroom my head was buzzing with ideas. One of the things that struck me was the sheer amount of historical sources that we could use in and out of the classroom to engage children. As a primary practitioner, I had thought that local archives would hold material that would perhaps be too difficult for the majority of the children. However, upon visiting the Lincolnshire archives I was happily surprised to see that there was plenty there to engage and inspire our children in a variety of ways, even something as simple as sketches or letters and other correspondence could start an enquiry. After such an exciting start to the fellowship, I am very much looking forward to continuing our journey over the coming months.

David Fernley, participant

The residential was a fantastic experience. In school I often feel I am facing an uphill battle to discuss our history curriculum so it was refreshing to spend the weekend with teachers who are passionate about the subject. The range of workshops has inspired me to get our children out, to visit graveyards and see the evidence of the past that is around us. I hope that they will have a greater connection to the community they belong to by having a greater understanding of its past.

Rachel Bruce, participant

The Local History Fellowship residential was an inspiring opportunity to connect with like minded colleagues and be immersed in the world of local history. It really opened my eyes to the numerous sources that can be used to uncover local history and the fact that history really is all around us. Having the chance to explore Lincoln and have the layers of its long history expertly unpeeled before my eyes was fantastic and I can’t wait to put into practice everything I’ve learnt for my own local area.

Fern Hunt, participant

Look out for further updates of the Teacher Fellows' progress and reflections on the online course.