We have just heard that our application for a research grant from Creative Partnerships has been successful. We were bidding to become one the Norfolk enquiry schools. The main focus of our bid was:
To explore the links between the children being part of a community with their finding a place in the wide world. We are going to investigate the links between past, present and future actions within a community, and how events can ‘bridge the gap’ between past and present. For example, we are exploring the story of Private Gibbs, a student of the school when it opened in 1908 who died in France in 1918 and was later buried in the village graveyard, and how this can help the current students to make connections between present day Surlingham and the important events from world history.
With stories like this we will look for patterns in the history of the community and the threads that connect it to the world beyond. This will help the children to develop a sense of belonging and an understanding of their place-in and responsibility-to their community – local, national and global.
The adults and the children of the school will collaborate to explore the bonds that tie the children to the village and the village to the children. We want to explore the truth of the West African adage that ‘a tribe has many members, many dead, some living, and countless numbers still to be born.’
Please click here if you would like to read the full application.
