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Education

Schools
Bringing the Past alive in the classroom!

Have you got the National Curriculum Blues? A visit from an historical character can make it much easier to deliver - it is also fun! All Foundation Phase and Key Stages are covered. Flexibility and careful research make it possible to adapt presentations to the particular requirements of your school or class.

Learn about life in an ancient castle from an equally ancient resident!

gapTry out some Tudor cures or take a look at education through the eyes of a Victorian!

Prepare for an air raid with an ARP Warden from the Second World War!

The possibilities are probably greater than your imagination!

Performances are interactive with plenty of opportunity for individuals and whole classes to take part in role play. Major historical events are fitted into the context of everyday life - food, health, crime and manners all get a mention.

The periods covered range from the New Stone Age to the 1970s. These give you quite a lot of choice!

Professional actors and storytellers - many with considerable teaching experience - come equipped with a wide range of artefacts for handling. They are fully prepared to be "Hot seated" by the most demanding interrogators - your class! Children are entertained, learn history and improve their listening and speaking skills - all at the same time.

Home or Away?

Children may find themselves tasting herbs or wielding a sword - without the expense of a school trip.

Alternatively, your party can be met at a wide variety of sites such as museums, castles and heritage centres. Other venues can be used by arrangement.

Chance Encounters provides a considerable amount of INSET for advisory services, education conventions, universities and professional associations. Seminars have been provided for the Gwent Education Convention, The Association of History Teachers of Wales and the former Wales Tourist Board (Now Visit Wales).

Education packs can be prepared for use at individual heritage sites. Chance Encounters has also been involved in the production of a video to help with the thorny problem of interpretation at Key Stage 2 and a CD ROM to combine education and entertainment. Educational CD's, audio and video tapes can also be made on specific subjects.

Drama Workshops

Chance Encounters has often been commissioned to develop educational sessions for museums and other historic and educational venues. Our team appears on a number of heritage websites - we always aim to combine education and entertainment.

Standard Characters
Foundation Phase, Key Stages 2 and 3

(Foundation Phase usuallu as local study/Cwricwlwm Cymreig/Knowledge and Understanding of the World)

Characters	Examples	National Curriculum
Ancient Peoples
New Stone Age villager Ancient Egyptian Pre-Roman Celt		Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2
Roman
Citizen / Lady Soldier / Slave Romano-Celt		Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3
Medieval
Lords	Lord Gilbert de Clair William Marshall Owain Glyndwr	Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3
Ladies	Countess Joan de Clair Alina de Mowbray Lady Nest	Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3
Herbalist / Apothecary Welsh Archer / Serf		Key Stages 2/3 Key Stages 2/3
Tudor
Lords / Gentry	Robert Wynne Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Francis Drake	Key Phase 2/3 Key Phase 2/3 Key Phase 2/3
Lady	Elizabeth Herbert	Key Stages 2/3
Wise Woman Beggar		Key Stages 2/3 Key Stages 2/3
Stuart
Lord / Lady / Gentry Witness to Plague / Great Fire		Key Stages 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3
Victorian
Nurses	Betsi Cadwallader Florence Nightingale	Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3
Industrialists	Robert Thompson Crawshay Sir John Josiah Guest Neighbour of Laura Ashley Susan Rees Dick Tywyll Lucy Thomas	Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3
Industrial Workers	Colliers / Iron / Copper Textiles / Canals	Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3
Inventors / Engineers	Isambard Kingdom Brunel Richard Trevithick	Key Stages 2/3 Key Stages 2/3
Teacher Pauper Rebecca Rioter Merthyr Rioter Chartist		Foundation Phase 2/3 Key Stages 2/3 Key Stage 3 Key Stages 2/3 Key Stages 2/3
Miscellaneous
Pirates	Henry Morgan Barti Ddu (Welsh) Anne Bonny	Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3
American Settler / Indian		Foundation Phase 2/3
Suffragette Titanic Survivor		Key Stages 2/3 Key Stage 3
Modern Era
World War 1	Nurse / Civilian	Key Stage 3
World War II	Soldier / Nurse / Farmer ARP Warden / Spiv WVS Member	Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3 Foundation Phase 2/3
1950s / 1960s / 1970s		Foundation Phase 2/3

THIS LIST IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE!

We can meet specific requirements of individual schools –
please tell us what you want!

We have recently been doing quite a lot of sessions
for Welsh Bacc. students

Quotes from Schools

Goetre Infants School
Merthyr Tydfil

"At Goetre Infants we think that using Chance Encounters provides opportunity to bring history to life in an exciting and meaningful way. The children are thrilled to join in the role play and handle the artefacts. It enables the development of key skills and a starting point for many cross curricular activities"

Denise Morgan

The Twyn School
Caerphilly

"Chance Encounters has been a very important element in the teaching of history at our school for many years. Our pupils always enjoy the visits which help them absorb so much of the curriculum in a fun and active way. The actors' knowledge of historic facts is always extensive and accurate. We have every confidence that the children's experience enhances their learning and compliments the school activities in this field." "

We are very proud of our history days. Typical is the annual "Armada Day" for year 4 pupils. Dressed as sailors of the Tudor period, children perform many appropriate tasks in a very "Hands-on" way. Other themes have been added to the repertoire so that every year group in Key Stage 2 has a day suited to the historic period they are studying.

Chance Encounters was extremely helpful in planning these programmes and is a major ingredient in the composition of all these events."

Pam Lyons

Gendros Primary School
Swansea

"I have worked with Val Williams for many years now and she has never failed to enthuse our children in a large variety of roles. She brings social history to life for young pupils."

Paul Davies

All Saints Primary School
Cardiff

"Chance Encounters has provided a unique opportunity for children to experience at first hand a range of historical artefacts and observe them being used in role play situations. The children are encouraged to ask and answer questions about the past and to compare aspects of life within and across the time periods. The children are also invited to participate in the role play and interact with the historical characters that are portrayed. Chance Encounters offers a variety of characters for children to engage with and delivers a huge amount of historical knowledge in child-friendly language. The children hugely enjoy the experience."

Historical skills delivered by Chance Encounters
Asking and answering questions.
Using different representations of the past.
Identifying causes and consequences of events in the lives of significant people.
Comparing historical time periods.

Historical characters introduced to children
Betsi Cadwallader.
Florence Nightingale.
Roman British woman
Characters from World War II.
Characters from Tudor times.

Angela Satterly

Llanishen Fach Primary School
Cardiff

"We are very pleased with the contribution made by Chance Encounters to history teaching across many year groups. Having an historical character from Tudor times or a Land Army Girl in front of the class makes the topic come alive. Our pupils have a much better understanding of the period studied when we provide that extra dimension in the form of a person from history - courtesy of Chance Encounters."

Frank Rees

Pantsygallog Primary School
Merthyr Tydfil

"I am always impressed by the standard of work done by Val Williams. Every visit is a special and the topics covered are really brought to life."

Gerald Mahoney