Year 9 “Anglo-Saxons” at Sherbourne Fields Special School
The last few weeks have seen both the end of a long exam season and the start of a heatwave! They have also witnessed the History Project at Sherbourne Fields Special School, surely, one of the highlights of the School Calendar for many a year.
Dating back to the early 2000s, the History Project has created a close bond between the two schools and provided a major enriching experience for many young people. Not only does it offer the opportunity to make friendships and share fun experiences with a wider, diverse peer group, but it also presents a responsibility and a challenge. To be able to provide inclusive learning opportunities to students of a Special School is an untapped skill that few members of the group realised they had at the outset.
The project provided a great revelation that learning about the past can be great fun for everyone. All students rose to the challenge of dressing themselves in Anglo-Saxon outfits. Colour, sounds and images help the SF students identify this as a special topic. During the week, we made jewellery, we built boats, we told stories, we danced and we played. We did so with smiles on our faces and had genuine fun. It helped us to bring to life the legend of King Arthur, the various festivals which dominated the Anglo-Saxon calendar, the hard times that Anglo-Saxon workers had to endure to keep their families alive and the wonderful story of King Alfred the Great.
During Friday afternoon, awards were given out to members of both schools for their excellent efforts. For one member of the group, talented musician Dara Agbato, this provided a great opportunity to showcase her keyboard skills and play some Anglo-Saxon inspired marching tunes to help us put together a battle-march dance.
Those delivering the project were clearly buzzing from the experience as it ended. One member of the team, Scarlett Gray said “Meeting the kids from Sherbourne Fields was a once-in–a lifetime experience. It made me realise that education is far greater than our own experiences at Kennedy”.
Jeyani Murugananthan added that “going to Sherbourne Fields was a massive eye-opening experience for us. They showed us how to appreciate even the smallest things in life.” To Natalia Kolodiy, the whole experience was “unforgettable! The kids there were just so fun to be with and everything was interactive. Leaving brought me close to tears.”
So... a huge vote of thanks to the 2025 SF team…. Dara, Heya, Bisma, Madeena, Bella, Seb, Esme, Ollie, Scarlett, Natalia, Toba, Jeyani, Fatma, and Roark.
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