The History's schools volunteering project, has proven to be a great success this year for all involved. Run in partnership with the History Society, Lisa Owen from Community Partnerships and Cascade, the project attracted 48 student volunteers who got involved in organising and running History sessions for children in 13 primary and secondary schools across Nottingham.
The students worked in a variety of settings, from timetabled lessons to lunchtime and afterschool clubs, to convey their enthusiasm for History, build aspiration in local schoolchildren, and develop their own skills and experience for their future careers.
Feedback from the students and qutoes from the participating schools demonstrate what each party gained from the experience:
Third year student, BA History
"I thoroughly enjoyed my participation with the History Society Community Volunteering project. I was the project leader of the team placed in Bluebell Hill Primary School and we focused on the topic of Titanic. Over the five weeks, we concentrated on five separate areas (the journey, people, class, food, the sinking). We sought to use a range of teaching methods in order to make our sessions both relevant and fun. For example, to explain the different types of foods eaten in the different classes on the ship, we assigned a particular passenger to each child and asked them to create plates with a selection of photos we provided, whilst for our 'Journey' session we created maps and asked the children to label key points through a co-ordinates game.
From the project I've learnt excellent skills in communication, team work, leadership, organisation and time management. I feel these skills have not only helped me in my degree but also with other extra-curricular projects. I have improved my ability to maintain patience during more difficult situations as well as thinking on my feet fast. All of these attributes will be essential in any future career and even more so if I am successful in my application to Teach First.
Overall this project has been incredibly beneficial as well as highly enjoyable so I would really like to thank the Cascade team for their generosity. Not only has it been very helpful to the participants themselves, in terms of offering extensive experience and a range of skills, it has also helped develop positive relations with the local community. I would also hope we helped inspire the children we taught and showed them how interesting and fun History can really be. Funding this project is providing so much opportunity for so many people, thus I would like to express my gratitude for the Cascade team who contributed to its success."
“The students were very professional and well prepared”
“It is mutually beneficial to us all if we can accommodate university students, particularly if they are thinking about working in education”
“This was a very valuable project from which the children learned a great deal”
For more details about the schools volunteering project, please contact Joe Merton.
Posted on Wednesday 29th May 2013