"This was a fantastic experience for the children which put what they had learnt in the classroom into context and brought their learning to life" Teacher Julia West from Sacred Heart, Barnet following our Black Death school walk
Tales of Plague enjoys bringing history alive for schoolchildren and delivers a number of ‘experiences’ aimed at primary schools studying the National Curriculum and suitable for ages five - 11.
1) The Great Plague Experience
2) The Great Plague and the Great Fire of London Experience
Previously we also also ran a special workshop and guided walk dedicated solely to the Great Fire called Tales of Fire.
3) The Black Death and the Medieval Experience
There are two ways that schools can enjoy either of these experiences:
1) Classes will join us on a one-hour tour around the Tower Hill/
Monument area led by our experienced professionals
2) Either of these remarkable periods of British history will be brought into the classroom to entertain and educate for half or whole days.
Schools
Bringing history alive...on our guided tour
* This London walk can take place at most times of the week and day and includes famous landmarks relevant to that particular ‘experience’ including: plague pits, the Tower of London and ancient churches
* Along the way children will meet a number of humorous, historical characters - played by an actor - such as Samuel Pepys, a cowardly monk and the infamous Plague Doctor
* These school walks have been designed with children’s safety in mind and a risk assessment and a stop-by-stop breakdown will be sent to teachers in advance of the tour.
Bringing history alive...in the classroom
Flexibility is key and we like to liaise with schools to deal with any specific requests, but in the past our school day package has included:
* Vivid introductions to the study period and key characters
* The appearance of a variety of historical characters such as: medieval peasant ‘Alfie’ and his pet rat, Samuel Pepys, Malcolm the monk, and the weirdly wonderful Plague Doctor
* A trip to the Plague Doctor’s strange surgery to deal with those troublesome buboes and find out about the crazy cures from the time
* Diary writing classes with Mr Pepys and the children reporting on the Great Plague or the Great Fire of London
* A live re-enactment of the Great Fire using the entire class (and starring its liveliest member!) to represent the fire and different parts of the city.
Tales of Plague is a two-person, London-based company and we’re happy to travel to any school within the Greater London area or home counties – or host classes from all over the country on our specially designed guided walks.
Please drop us a line to find out more about what we can offer your school at info@talesofplague.co.uk.
* Both members have enhanced DBS certificates and public liability insurance.
"Thank you both so much for the great workshops. The children enjoyed themselves very much and we all (teachers included) learned a lot."
Teacher Alexis Maskatiya from Caterham Pre-Prep , Surrey
"Your workshop was well resourced, well thought through and really stimulating for the children. It was a fantastic day. Thank you for coming!" Teacher Catherine Hughes from Northlands, Basildon following our Great Plague & Great Fire workshop
"When I asked both year six classes it was unanimous that they had the most fantastic time on the plague tour!"
Pastoral leader Daniel Tonkin from Harris Academy, Tottenham
"An excellent use of costumes and props helped immerse the children and kept them completely engaged. A brilliant way to get the children excited about history!"
Teacher Mr Peters from Maryland Primary School, Stratford following our Black Death and Medieval workshop
In the autumn of 2020 we also offered schools...Fleas & Cheese: the Great Plague and Fire Show! This interactive, funny one-man show brought together the highlights of our two most popular workshops and our acclaimed guided walk. It lasted for 60-70 mins and focused on the Great Plague (1665) and the Great Fire (1666). Teachers found it perfect for Key Stage 1 & 2 and was performed in the classroom in front of one or two classes followed by lots of pox-ridden, flea-bitten questions.