Beyond the School: a resource for the whole community

Do you want to carry out interesting field research focused on the development of your landscape, culture, history and architecture?
Using historic photos of local places and objects, students will search for identical places and record the changes which have taken place by taking new photographs using digital cameras. The project coordinator will discuss with the students the topics that they wish to explore, and the activities that they will undertake: for example these could include interviews with local residents and other members of the community, scanning the old images, negotiations with partners, searching for the locations illustrated in the old images, writing observations and commentaries and data collection, organisation and classification.
Do you want to develop cross-curricular approaches to local heritage issues?
Participation in the project and the educational modules that have been created for it gives opportunities to investigate local history, geography, natural sciences, social sciences, ICT, literacy and citizenship. The project also gives many opportunities to deliver Key Skills programmes. This is dealt with in the Curriculum connections section.
Do you want to give students opportunities to work in teams, cooperate with other members of the community (particularly people of different generations) and to share responsibilities?
The Beyond the School project is conceived as a set of activities which can be used to extend the extra curricular work of schools, colleges, pupil referral units and other community groups. The project methodology and the e-learning course available for teachers and youth leaders will illustrate how best to motivate students for this type of independent extra curricular activity. The students themselves will improve their understanding of their own capabilities and their ability to work in teams.
Do you want to motivate your students to have a deeper understanding of their local heritage?
The main aim of the project is to give those students who may have had limited experience of local heritage issues, a better understanding of the factors which have influenced the development of their local environment and community. Through gathering historical material, complex digitalization and archiving of data, through interviews and field research, the students will gain a thorough knowledge of the development of their region, which will help them to better understand the development of their local community.
The results of this work will be disseminated locally, regionally and nationally through the production of booklets and exhibition materials which will be made available to the general public .