Historic England Selects Bradford School For New Heritage Award
Historic England has selected Peel Park Primary School and Nursery in the Bolton and Undercliffe area of Bradford for a prestigious new Champion Heritage School Award. This is in recognition of its commitment and excellence in teaching pupils about their local heritage.
The school is one of only eight across the country to receive the accolade and was chosen on account of the inspiring work it has undertaken through Historic England’s Heritage Schools programme.
Through this programme, every pupil in the school learnt about the history of their local area. Each year group focused on a different local historical site including the statue of former Prime Minister Robert Peel in the local park and Undercliffe Cemetery, where a number of prominent local residents are buried. Some pupils also visited Saltaire and Sunny Bank Mills in Leeds.
The school has also found other creative ways to bring local heritage to life. For example, it invited World War Two veterans from Age Concern to speak about their experiences in the conflict and is actively involved in the annual Armistice commemorations at Undercliffe Cemetery.
As a Champion Heritage School, Peel Park Primary School will work with Historic England over the coming year through the Heritage Schools programme to pilot a new school-led scheme. This is aimed at highlighting the importance of local heritage and how it can be integrated into a range of subjects. As part of the award, the school will receive £1,000 to support this work.
As this is the first year of Champion Heritage Schools, teacher and pupils at the school will play a key role in shaping the scheme’s activities and its future development. Such activities could include testing new local heritage education resources and and sharing best practice in heritage teaching.
I’m really looking forward to working with Peel Park Primary School over the next year to shape and deliver this new scheme. They are thoroughly deserving of Champion Heritage School status and will serve as an inspiration to other schools looking to incorporate local heritage into their curriculum.
