History

Wider Opportunities

At Oxclose, we feel that it is really important to give our children opportunities outside of the normal week to week lessons, to enhance their learning and commemorate special events. This includes both visits outside of school and visitors into school, as well as special themes days and weeks.

Remembrance

As a school, we recognise Remembrance Day each year by completing a variety of different activities across each year group. Children complete a number of art and design related activities to recognise Remembrance Day throughout the week, such as creating poppies, baking biscuits and making silhouette pictures. During their English lessons, children also take part in a number of build-up tasks focused on the subject, resulting in a final piece of writing. As a school, we collect donations and come together as a school to reflect on the significance of the day, including observing the 2-minute silence at 11am.

History Intent

At Oxclose Primary Academy we feel that History is an important part of a child’s education. We believe that all children should have a wide knowledge of their local history, as well as learning about history from around the world.

Throughout school, we study important local places and events, from how mining shaped the Washington we have today to the impact World War II had on the North East. We study significant individuals, such as Queen Victoria and Grace Darling as well as important individuals linked to our local area, such as George Stephenson. Each year group also builds on their knowledge of units in history such as The Roman Empire, Ancient Greece and the Mayan Civilization.

We aim to make all History lessons fun and enjoyable for all children. Although History is a foundation subject, we feel that allowing the children to fully access the History Curriculum will extend their knowledge and understanding of both the wider world and their local area.​​​​​​​

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Themed Days

Some year groups are lucky enough to experience themed days within school, linked to their topics. Recently, this has included a Victorian day for Year 2 and a Tudor day for Year 4. In year 4, children came dressed up in various costumes. Some children were famous monarchs whereas others were school children, everyone looked brilliant! Throughout the day, they completed a range of different activities and learnt all about life in Tudor times. Year 2 also wowed with their Victorian costumes, as they experienced a school day without any electricity or modern technology. They even tasted gruel!

Visitors

Sometimes, we have visitors into school who can help us to learn more about the past. In Year 1, children learn about the toys their grandparents would have played with and as part of this, invite family members into school to share their own experiences. In the past, we have also worked with ‘That History Bloke’ who brings history alive with his fantastic workshops, both in and outside of school.  This has included an in school session for Year 2 linked to the Great Fire of Gateshead, followed by a guided trip to Gateshead quayside.

Visits

Another way that we ensure our children experience a wide range of opportunities is by taking them on trips away from the classroom. We are lucky to have a wealth of historical locations in our area to explore, including Beamish, the Discovery Museum, the Great North Museum, Arbeia Roman Fort, Jarrow Hall and Bede Museum and the North East Land, Air and Sea Museum. We have even taken our Year 6 children to Lindisfarne Priory, to experience first-hand the landing place of the Vikings in 793AD.