Mon 19th Apr 2021: Save our Shelters - an exciting and purposeful school project about 16 WW2 air raid shelters built by Courtaulds

The children at my school have been truly inspired by the history and the environmental importance of this wonderful green space in the centre of Halstead. If you have had a chance to view their posters, you can clearly see how they have used their artistic skills to highlight the value of the shelters and the wildlife.

 I am a primary school teacher at Great Bradfords Junior School in Braintree, and I currently work with children in Year 3 (aged 7 - 8 year olds. This is the youngest year group in our junior school, comprising of three classes with a total of 90 children.

In the Spring Term, out topic was all about World War Two. Although my colleagues and I had previously taught this period in history, we had been unaware of this unique historical site with the 16 air raid shelters. When our head teacher told us about the recent auction of the land, we decided to reach out to Halstead 21st Century Group with the aim of working with its members to try and save the shelters and the land. 
 

The children were fascinated by World War Two, the Blitz and the fact that different air raid shelters became an essential part of everyone's lives. They were particularly interested in how the war had an impact on children and their families. During the weeks when we were still involved in online learning, we set the children several research projects, which includeed learning about the importance of the Courtauld family an the impact they had on our local history. The children had not realised that there were close links between their home town of Braintree and the neighbouring town of Halstead. 

The beauty of this art and history project is the fact that the children were creating persuasive posters with real context and for a real purpose. They were excited that their posters would be seen by the local community and they are still very enthusiastic about saving the shelters. They have had some wonderful ideas about what could be done with the land. Their enthusiasm has spread to their families, many of whom have visited the gallery of posters at Factory Terrace, as well as the posters displayed in shops and other businesses around Halstead. By visiting the town first-hand, they have also been able to walk around, look up and see the massive canopy of trees that mark the land. 

As a result our children are completely invested in trying to do anything they can to help preserve the past and protect the land. 


 

To see more of these inspiring posters check out our School Project page.