Y4 boys dived into the town’s archives this week for their latest learning activity in their ‘Becoming Bedford’ topic. In the fascinating session with Natasha from the Bedfordshire Archives (who has an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of Bedford!), the boys explored how geography, history, industry and trade have combined to help shape the town we know today.
The boys looked into the impact of war in Bedford, from hosting the visiting Highland Regiments in WWI and the American Army in WWII to welcoming evacuees who had fled their homes. They explored how the geography of Bedford, with its flat landscape, made it perfect for farming, how the River Great Ouse and the town’s proximity to London and other key towns and cities made it the prosperous market town it became, and how its clay soils made it the perfect location for brickworks.
The boys were also delighted to see many places from their daily lives, many brought to life through maps and photos. They learned how important some of the jobs held by their grandparents and great-grandparents were to the town’s prosperity. Many boys were familiar with the London Brickworks, which helped rebuild Britain after WWII and how this brought about Bedford’s sizeable Italian community, and the Britannia Ironworks and W H Allen and Sons Ltd, the latter who built steam pumps for the Titanic.
Head of Y4, Mr Powell, commented, “We are delighted that ‘Becoming Bedford’ is proving a topic that is opening the boys’ eyes to Bedford, firing their interest and one that they feel genuinely connected with as it relates to their daily lives and families’ histories. It is also exciting to see boys engaging with skills-based learning – they are choosing how to further their knowledge and the areas of interest to research and develop. We have provided them with the skills, and now they are flying with it – and loving it.”
