Tuesday, 25 September 2018

Sir Walter at St Peter’s Lympstone









Fairlynch Museum’s Education Outreach officer Lizzie Mee with Sir Walter, Head Charlotte Johnston and three of the pupils at St Peter's Preparatory School, Lympstone

All 300 pupils with their teachers at this leading independent preparatory school for 3 to 13- year-olds are involved in the Raleigh 400 project to learn about Sir Walter and his times. 

St Peter’s has its own baccalaureate which is well suited to the subject: it includes studies of explorers, Native America and the Tudors, and the impact of religion throughout history.


‘We would be very happy to promote the Raleigh 400 exhibition to our parents and children,' wrote the school's Head of Humanities Amy Hughes to Raleigh 400 organisers at Fairlynch Museum.  

'I have included it in my Humanities development plan and we are looking forward to ensuring that this important event, the 400th anniversary year of his death is one to remember. Staff are currently planning and deciding which activities to do with their classes. We fully support the work that you are doing. We plan to discuss how as a school we are going to make sure this local Devonian is remembered. We are excited!’  

Dressed in my finest apparel, complete with ostrich feather, rapier, bejeweled fingers,   (and of course colossal arrogance, as I told the children) Sir Walter gave an account of his amazing life.

Raleigh spoke for an impressive 40 minutes or so on the scaffold before he was executed. I didn’t have quite as long in the St Peter’s school assembly on Friday 21 September, and I’m not as tall as the great man but I hope I gave the children an idea of why he is our local hero.

Sir Walter Raleigh is indeed a fascinating character and it is great to see the children's interest in him grow,’ wrote Amy Hughes to me after the event.   

 


FOR THE RALEIGH 400  CALENDAR OF 


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