Gunpower Plot 400 Project
Organisation: City of Westminster Archives Centre
Grant Award: Your Heritage Grant (£25,100)
The main objectives of the Gunpowder 400 Plot project were:
· To remind school children and local residents about a major event in the history of Westminster, which had a major impact on the cultural history of Britain.
· To celebrate the work of young people in Westminster and gain their perspective on this major event in the history of their city.
· For children to learn about the Metropolitan Police's use of forensic techniques.
· To allow the Tower of London to reach out beyond its local catchment area to Westminster schools · To develop a strong and powerful partnership between Westminster Archives, local schools and libraries by providing a focus on Family Learning week between 8th and 16th October 2005.
Outcomes
The Gunpowder 400 Plot project won a prize in the Primary School category, "the Archives Landmark Award Diploma 2005", presented by the Corporation of London Joint Archive Service, for recognition of our work in developing an extended and enriched humanities curriculum and community learning experience through the imaginative and creative use of archive collections.
The judges were very impressed with the quality of work and the high standard of teaching and learning approaches evident in the project. They were particularly impressed by the opening up of a major historical event for a wide range of young people from many different cultures and ethic backgrounds.
The class teachers praised the project, noting that the project was both challenging and interesting involving all abilities. Overall the pupils enjoyed the project, in Guy Fawkes Play and the Tower of London: many pupils knew little about Guy Fawkes and now they understand more about the 5th of November.
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