Stepping back to the Bronze Age

A labyrinth walk through a ‘Bronze Age village’ was enjoyed by pupils and parents.

Pupils from Ysgol Maes Hyfryd and Ysgol Pen Coch in Flint created a maze-like processions through a ‘Bronze Age village’ as part of a term-long project.

At the Eco Centre at Heidelberg Materials Cement in Padeswood, youngsters dressed up and took part in storytelling, music and film in order to tell the tale of people from the past.

Veronica Breeze, head of key stage three at Ysgold Maes Hyfryd, said: “Throughout the project students have looked at history, geography, music and art so it is right across the spectrum.

“They have loved it and it ended up being absolutely amazing.

“It is fantastic to have been able to use the eco centre where they are able to do so much and we are grateful to Heidelberg Materials Cement for providing that.”

The event, which took place 19 April, forms part of the Lead Creative Schools scheme, which is a project funded by the Arts Council for Wales. It aims to promote new ways of working, with innovative programs of learning, designed to improve the quality of learning and teaching.

Mrs Breeze said everything from the theme and the story, to the costumes and artwork, were developed from the ideas of students at the school. She said “They have developed all the artefacts that were there and have developed all of the story and the characters. We even had a roundhouse which was built from scratch.

“At the end of the procession a film was shown where actress Tammi Gwyn did a pretend news report to show somebody had found a lost Bronze Age tribe in the woods and then showed all the making of the project.”

The project also formed part of the Transition Programme between the two schools which aims to aid the move to secondary education.

Along with Mrs Breeze, the project was prepared by Lauren Anderson from Ysgol Pen Coch, and resident artists Rob Spaull and Fiona Colins, both Arts Council for Wales representatives.

Article by Owen Evans published in The Leader, Wednesday, April 20, 2016