Key Stage 3
BTEC first certificate in Construction
Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Jefny Ashcroft in partnership with Madeley Academy.
The teacher wanted to increase student:
- understanding of how the local built environment effects the people who live there
- understanding of how different people have shaped the local built environment
- personal learning and thinking skills
Engaging Places exhibition, Wolverhampton © CABE
Stories in Stone was about encouraging students from Madeley Academy in South Telford to look at their town in new ways, and to understand different styles and types of building, as well as the reasons why a town develops in a particular way. The project began with a visit to Wolverhampton. The students were tasked with looking above the shop fronts, reading the architecture and creating a photographic map of the high street. This led to discussions about the stories that architecture can teach you about a place’s past. Then the students focussed on Wolverhampton Art Gallery, examining the building in detail to learn how it had developed and been used.
Many of the students had never visited Wolverhampton before and were only familiar with a small number of places in the region. All too often students are deprived of the experience of a rich and diverse built environment, and while a project like Stories in Stone aims to stimulate a critical appreciation of the ‘ordinary’ places that are experienced every day, the value of these wider experiences is invaluable.
After this initial phase the students turned back to Madeley, transferring the skills learnt in Wolverhampton. This new perspective gave the students an understanding of the impact they can have on their own places. Through this work the students went on to construct replica models of buildings in Madeley. These models were later used on the set of a film the students made about the history of their neighbourhood, filmed by Karl Taras. The project went on to win first prize nationally among the CABE Engaging places projects.
Additional resources:
Read more about how this project developed.
Read the students’ thoughts on the project.
Read more about project facilitator, Jefny Ashcroft.
