An Ipswich primary school is one of three educational establishments in Suffolk that have been awarded for their outstanding history curriculum.
Teachers and students from Piper’s Vale Primary Academy celebrate receiving the Historical Association Gold Quality Mark as the school demonstrated the high quality of its curriculum, leadership, teaching and learning.
The school’s curriculum stands out from the others with its history teaching programme.
The lessons are based on the second-order concept, where students focus on causes and consequences, as well as similarities and differences between historical events.
Natasha Linge, the coordinator of the project, said: “We try to explore with our students the historical skills rather than just having the knowledge.”
Noah, one of the students, said: “I’ve enjoyed learning about past events that I never knew before. My favourite part is exploring ruins from previous times, such as Ancient Rome.
“We’ve learnt well and explored different topics in history. I felt proud of myself and the award because I have learnt something new in all of my history lessons.”
The school applied for the award two years ago, after collecting all the necessary evidence regarding the high standard of their curriculum.
Ms Linge said: “It was a long but also very interesting process. For me, it was a good chance to really go in-depth into our curriculum.
“Receiving the gold award is amazing and gives us a chance to see things that we can improve on as well.
“We've worked really hard, but it's amazing to know that we’re doing a good job.
“The children have just been amazing. They adapted to the programme very well, and they really enjoy it.”
Kimberly Morton, the school principal, said: “Following our OFSTED Good assessment, we are truly delighted to receive this award. It followed a rigorous assessment process over the course of the academic year to evidence how resources are used in lessons, how students are provided with feedback and how the team is managed on a day to day basis.
“It cumulated in a visit from the History Association to experience our high-quality History provision in action. Thank you to Natasha Linge who led the process and of course our dedicated pupils, of which we are extremely proud.”
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