Clarke Hall
Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Clarke Hall was built in 1680 for Benjamin Clarke, steward to the Duke of Norfolk, and his wife Priscilla. A mile from the centre of Wakefield, the red brick house and the gardens were sensitively restored in the 1970s and recently a visitor centre has been built with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Clarke Hall Educational Museum is owned and administered by Wakefield Metropolitan District Council.
Most unusually, in term time Clarke Hall is open only to schools. The ability to work in a sealed environment with the 5,000 pupils who visit each year is a major factor in its success. The dedicated professionalism of the 1.5 teaching staff is the other. Outside term time a further 5,000 adults visit, with a growing band of volunteers developing life long learning.
The teachers have developed a range of activities to help schools deliver the National Curriculum. When booking a visit, all the adults involved must book for the half-day INSET. Help in planning is given not just for the visit, but for the week, half term or term, because a visit can inform the total curriculum. The fact that in straitened times schools release staff for INSET is an indication of the value placed on Clarke Hall.
Pupils ‘live for a day’ in the house and grounds dressed in the costume of the period, handling history and speaking the language of the late seventeenth century. Immersed in the role-play of the daily lives of Priscilla and Benjamin any number of curriculum subjects are tackled and learning takes place in many ways. Although a comprehensive resource book has been developed, each school works with the museum to develop a personally appropriate experience.
KS2 and KS3 pupils are the main visitors, but KS3 & 4 students often use the site for media communication studies, tourism and journalist studies, or as a stimulus for art and music projects. There are visits from PGCE students and museum education graduates as part of their professional development. The staff are keen to ensure that schools with funding difficulties are not excluded. Much of their time is spent chasing funding for projects to help schools with transport and supply teaching costs. In 2002 funds were secured from Education Action Zones to develop role-play linked to literacy strategies for Year 6. In 2003, further EAZ funding was sought for a numeracy project for Year 5. Funds from the National Literacy Group bought in three extra teachers for a week and provided transport for several socially deprived schools to take part in a two-hour role-play. This drama around a conflict involved history, poetry, literature and music. Speaking and listening, observation, decision-making, spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues were all embraced.
Clarke Hall is a centre of excellence built up over twenty years and its approach has been much imitated. The museum continues to develop ways to broaden access and offer meaningful experiences for their young time travellers. JR
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