Historic Workshops Reviews 501

Rob was amazing! The children and I thoroughly enjoyed the Mayan Experience day. The children learnt such a lot and were inspired and engaged all day. I’ve had several follow up messages from parents saying how much their child has come home talking about making pottery, taking part in a sacrifice reenactment, challenging their parents on Mayan maths etc. Rob is clearly passionate about history and his enthusiasm just made the whole day brilliant. Will definitely use again and recommend to other schools too. Thank you Rob!

We recently had a WW2 Workshop delivered by Historic Workshops. I felt that the workshop itself was superb, Gareth was great with the pupils (assorted year groups) and very knowledgeable in his delivery. Very well organised and couldn't fault the delivery. I am unsure why the price was so much more to be delivered to a second class when in reality, the second class was taught by their school teachers with the workshop leader swapping between the groups. This was not made clear in advance. Information was slow in coming through and difficult to speak to someone. Eventually managed to speak to Leigh with a couple of questions and was made to feel like it was an inconvenience answering them. Workshop itself was certainly brilliant and pupils enjoyed.

Our Victorian workshop was fantastic! We were so impressed with the well-prepared resources and organisation. A timetable of the structure of the day was sent over well in advance with communication via email to prepare for the workshop. The workshop leader arrived early, explained the activities clearly to staff and his energy and passion shone through all day! We are so grateful that our Victorian's topic started so fantastically and look forward to inviting historic workshops back to our school very soon!

We had the pleasure of having an Ancient Egypt workshop delivered by the lovely David today for our year 4 class. It was truly wonderful. The children were so engaged, so involved and utterly transfixed! Most importantly, whilst having fun, they managed to learn so much. The activities and games that were prepared were perfect for my children and they even had adapted worksheets for SEN learners. David asked me about any EAL children, any diagnosed children and was incredibly thorough. I even had a glowing review from other teachers in the staff room, who told me that David was so friendly and chatty and that they too had managed to learn some fascinating things. David was professional, knowledgeable and utterly convincing as Pharaoh Anni! Would defo recommend and will definitely have back!

Rob the leader knowledge was excellent. The children enjoyed the battle tactics and being part of the Witan. Playing the board games was a highlight, using different skills. I would highly recommend the company and we are booking again for next year.

David!! He's a brilliant leader of these workshops and our school always love to welcome him in. We look forward to what he has to teach the children. He's so friendly and brilliant in character! We'll see him again next year!!

We had Adam (Lisander to the children) in to deliver the Ancient Greek workshop, which was to hook the children in to our new unit all about Ancient Greece.

Shortly after arriving, Adam informed myself and the other teacher about the teacher-led activities and what would be involved really well. We both felt extremely confident when teaching them.

Upon meeting Lisander, the children were amazed at his clothing, armour and weaponry. They were asking lots of questions straight away. My colleagues and I were very impressed with Adam's breadth of knowledge and enthusiasm about the Greeks.

By far the favourite part of the day for the children was the battle tactics and formations. They all had the chance to use a shield or spear and fight for their side. There was an incredible amount of excitement and the children enjoyed charging, creating the phalanx and throwing the arrows.

In the afternoon, the children became a Greek scribe and really enjoyed using a reed pen and papyrus paper. Also, the two games (5 Lines and Lantrunculi) were a huge success. Most of the children preferred 5 Lines and enjoyed playing it. Finally, the city-state management workshop was really informative. It allowed the children to debate and discuss which option they would choose. 5G score 375 points, whilst 5P scored -1,150 points.

Thanks to Adam, who was absolutely brilliant. All the children in Year 5 at Potters Green had a brilliant day. One child in particular stated, "WOW! That was the best day ever. Lisander really knew his stuff and I've learnt lots of new facts."

Thanks to Historic Workshops, and Adam, for coming into Potters Green to get our children hooked into their new unit.

Kirsten, Aqsa and Sam at Potters Green.

Great pre-event communication with Leigh. An excellent display on the day of the event. Interactive and great with both event crew and visitors alike. Will definitely be back and recommend.

What a great day! Gareth was a fantastic workshop leader. He was clearly very experienced with children and knew exactly how to engage them, sharing his knowledge and expertise along the way. The children really enjoyed all the workshops but especially the games and battle formation sessions. I would recommend the Romans day and hope to book again.

We had Gareth delivering the Great Fire of London workshop to our year 2 cohort. The activities were very suitable for the age group and knowledge of the children. It built upon prior knowledge and added some information about the Plague too which was nice for them to understand. Gareth delivered in full Samuel Pepys attire and the children embraced this! He was very knowledgeable and good with the children's questions. The artefacts he brought in were interesting and relevant and the fact that the children could touch them and explore them was beneficial. Would recommend this to any other year 2 class doing this topic 👍🏼

We had Adam from Historic workshops delivering our Roman Day experience. Adam was very friendly and organised. He delivered with such passion and knowledge the children really enjoyed it. The battle story was inclusive for all and very enjoyable. The stories told including the children and staff. Overall it was a pleasent experience and the children learned even more on the Romans. Thank you!

My year 2 class had an absolutely fantastic day with David! They were enthralled from start to finish and thoroughly enjoyed every activity. This was our first workshop with Historic Workshops ... but will definitely not be the last! Thanks so much.

David was absolutely amazing; both to work alongside, but also with the children for our Year 5 Maya workshop. He made it both fascinating, but also accessible to the needs in our class. He was able to answer every question, and make it simplified for children. I had parent emails after school saying how much fun the children had, but also that they were able to recall information from throughout the day. Thank you David and we will be using you again next year!

Mally was fantastic. Loved the enthusiasm and really got the children engaged and excited. We had a brilliant day and the children throughly enjoyed themselves. Thank you for a great workshop. Until next time!

Roman Workshop
Gareth had brilliant knowledge so we all learnt a lot! He answered all the children's questions carefully. He spent time with each group when we were playing Roman board games and when the children were writing on papyrus paper. The spears he brought were made of wood with a plastic top which made the battle formations more authentic than when we have had to use brightly coloured foam javelins. All the children loved it and asked when Gareth could come back again!

Year 4 had a fantastic experience during their Anglo-Saxons workshop, delivered by Rob from Historic Workshops. The day began with an engaging introduction, where Rob provided an overview of the Anglo-Saxon period, from its origins to the beginning of the Viking invasions. This session was a great opportunity to consolidate the children’s learning, reinforcing key content covered throughout the topic.

Next, the children moved outside for an exciting hands-on session on Anglo-Saxon battle formations and tactics. This was a definite highlight, with all pupils fully engaged. Rob ensured the activities were accessible and inclusive, particularly supporting students with SEND so that everyone could take part.

Later in the morning, the class took on the role of archaeologists in a classroom-based dig. They examined artefacts, using reasoning and justification skills to determine their possible uses and significance. This activity encouraged critical thinking and discussion.

In the afternoon, the children participated in ‘The Witan,’ a role-playing activity where they became advisors and nobles, debating important issues affecting Anglo-Saxon England. This was a fantastic opportunity to develop their speaking and listening skills, especially in forming persuasive arguments and justifying their decisions.

The day concluded with a session of Anglo-Saxon board games, which the children thoroughly enjoyed. It was a fun and relaxed way to wrap up a day full of immersive learning.

Overall, the workshop was a huge success. The children were highly engaged, learned a great deal, and the staff were delighted with the experience. A brilliant day all around!

We had the wonderful David come and visit our school today to deliver a Viking workshop to our Year 3 children. The children were enthusiastic, engaged and learnt so much from David. He was passionate, approachable and knowledgable about the topic. I hope to see him again during another workshop soon and will be sharing the companies details with other Year groups.

Gareth was extremely knowledgeable about World War 2, but on the few occasions when he wasn't able to answer the children's (very tangential!) questions, he was really open to all of their ideas and suggestions. The artefacts that Gareth brought him were a highlight for the children and they loved exploring them and discussing them with their peers and the adults in the room. A fantastic, hands-on experience for all of us - everyone enjoyed it immensely!

This is the third year we have invited Historic Workshop to enhance our Victorian School Days learning. The children in Y1 loved the experience. The children had the opportunity to role-play, play with old toys and games and make peg dolls, as well as look closely at artefacts. Thank you.

Gareth was a fantastic session leader: arrived early, explained his plan clearly and led his sessions brilliantly. He clearly has a lot of experience in the classroom and was able to engage the children (making necessary adaptations for SEN children) whilst relaying information. It was evident that he had a love for history too as he was able to field many varied questions - he most definitely hadn't simply memorised a script. Recommended.