Online Workshops
Just like our resources and activites, our workshops are built around our village - Alton Haypun. This provides the learners with a specific setting and context within which they can focus their learning. As Alton Haypun represents many wartime communities across Britain, the village provides the perfect opportunity for learners to gain an understanding of life on the Home Front in a more intimate way rather than from a generalised viewpoint.
The workshops, which are one hour long, are delivered by a fully qualified teacher with a Masters in Second World War Studies and a number of years of experience in planning and delivering Second World War workshops to primary schools. The number of workshops available will grow over time but if there is something in particular you would like for your learners please let us know and we can discuss how best we can meet your needs.
Although the workshops are listed as deliverable online, if you would like in-person delivery, please contact us to discuss arrangements.
The Artefact Analysis Workshop uses real World War Two objects to bring history to life for learners. These objects are part of the history of Alton Haypun having been donated to the village museum to help tell the wartime story of the village. The workshop encourages learners to investigate, question and interpret items from both the Home Front and front line of battle.
​
Using close observation and guided questioning, learners act as historians, making predictions, sharing ideas and refining their thinking as new information is revealed to suggest who might have owned the artefacts and how they were used.
​
Key features:
-
Live object handling via camera
-
Strong focus on enquiry and discussion
-
Brings civilian life and the Home Front into sharp focus
-
Fully guided, no preparation required
-
Develops speaking and listening skills, critical thinking, observational skills, decision-making and historical understanding.
Cost: £50
'You're in Charge' places learners in the role of Alton Haypun's wartime Defence Committee. Learners work in small groups to make difficult decisions about life on the Home Front.
​
The session explores real challenges faced by communities during the Second World War, including evacuation, air raids, rationing, safety, schooling, morale and rumours of spies.
Learners will be required to discuss options, agree on a course of action, and take responsibility for the outcomes.
Each decision leads to realistic consequences, helping pupils understand that wartime leadership rarely involved simple “right or wrong” answers. The emphasis of the workshop is on reasoning, empathy and teamwork.
​
Key features:
-
Live scenario development - as if in a "live" wartime committee meeting
-
Strong focus on enquiry and discussion
-
Brings civilian life and the Home Front into sharp focus
-
Fully guided, no preparation required
-
Develops speaking and listening skills, critical thinking, decision-making, historical understanding, and emotional understanding.
​
Cost: £50
'Evacuate or Hesitate' explores one of the most difficult choices faced by families during the Blitz: whether to send children away from home or keep them close.
Learners take on the role of parents in wartime London and are asked to make a series of decisions as events unfold.
Delivered as a guided, round-based activity, the workshop encourages pupils to think carefully about risk, safety and uncertainty.
Using maps and discussion, learners will discuss and discover how geography, industry and transport influenced enemy bombing targets, and why some areas were safer than others.
​
Key features:
-
Live scenario development
-
Strong focus on enquiry and discussion
-
Brings civilian life and the Home Front into sharp focus
-
Fully guided, no preparation required
-
Develops speaking and listening skills, critical thinking, historical understanding and decision-making, and emotional understanding. ​
​
Cost: £50