A Living History Experience

Editorial note: The WOW factor. When we first received and read the World War II Evacuation Project case study we simply went WOW! It was genuinely mind-blowing. Below we publish the main sections of the report. They bring to life an invaluable, ground-breaking case-study of national significance.

The case-study involved two contrasting schools, one rural in Shropshire, the other urban in Peckham, London. The Shropshire school created and developed the World War II evacuation project working closely with its Peckham school partner.

OFSTED's 2010 thumb nail sketch of the Shropshire school paints a clear picture of it: ... a very small school situated in a thinly populated rural area. Pupils come from a wide range of social backgrounds, mainly from the village and a few outlying farms and all are from a White British background. They are taught in two mixed-age classes: an Early Years Foundation Stage/Key Stage 1 class and a Key Stage 2 class.

In contrast, the urban Peckham school has over 500 pupils on roll with a two form entry. Classes from Reception to Year 6 are arranged in chronological age order with up to 30 children in a class. OFSTED (2008) tells us that the school is: a large multi-cultural school, which from September 2008 has specialist status for the arts, has few White British pupils. The largest groups are from Black Caribbean or Black African backgrounds...