Education

History

Chester Cathedral has been a place of Christian worship for over one thousand years.

The Saxon church that was on this site at that time housed the remains of St Werburgh. The present building was begun in 1092 when it was founded as a Benedictine monastery. This closed in 1540 and reopened as the Cathedral the following year.

Chester Cathedral boasts one of the finest monastic complexes in the country as well as outstanding Medieval woodwork in the Quire. There are magnificent Victorian mosaics on the north wall of the Nave and spectacular stained glass windows.

The Education Department offers a wide range of tours for school groups. It has held the Sandford Award, given for excellence in Heritage Education, since 1998 and the Education Officer is always prepared to adapt tours for each individual school.

The Qualification and Curriculum authority suggests schemes of work that enable teachers to deliver the National Curriculum. They are not mandatory but offer suggestions that are frequently used by teachers.

Foundation Stage
Key Stages 1 & 2
Key Stage 3
Key Stage 4
Post-16

Foundation Stage

Children are given opportunities to gain knowledge and understanding of the world. The QCA states that teachers should give particular attention to:

activities based on personal experiences.

A visit to Chester Cathedral can introduce young children to a sense of the age of a building. They can listen to stories of events that happened many years ago. This is usually incorporated into a visit that also introduces the children to a place of Christian worship.

Key Stages 1 and 2

Children acquire and apply knowledge, skills and understanding in five main areas:

chronological understanding
knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past
historical interpretation
historical enquiry
organisation and communication.

Schemes of work from QCA Standards Site are not statutory but show how the history programme of study can be translated into manageable units of work.

The following units are applicable to a visit to Chester Cathedral.

Unit 8: What were the differences between the lives of rich and poor people in Tudor times?

This unit can include the lives of monks.

In Chester Cathedral the children can:

see how the monks went about their daily routines, where they lived, worshipped and worked
wear a replica habit and learn why they wore such a garment
sit in the Quire, see and feel the medieval woodcarvings and hear about the people who worked on them
look at the structure of the building and learn about the people who spent their lives building it
hear about the reasons for the dissolution of the monasteries and the resulting foundation of the Cathedral.

Unit 12 How did life change in our locality in Victorian times?

Children use their local area to explore characteristic features of Victorian times. They develop their sense of chronology and ask and answer questions from looking at buildings and other information sources.

In Chester Cathedral the children can:

look for evidence of the vast Victorian restoration that took place in the building between 1868 and 1876
they can identify the Victorian additions and alterations
the importance of religion in the lives of Victorian families can be explored through monuments, stained glass windows etc.
the gulf between Victorian upper classes and the illiterate lower classes will become apparent

Unit 18: What was it like to live in our area in the past?

An enquiry based approach to a local study. The children compare an area, street or significant building at two or three periods of time. This unit gives opportunity to develop fieldwork and research skills.

In Chester Cathedral the children can:

see evidence of the original Saxon church and learn about the concept of pilgrimage
compare the original Norman arch and columns with the later Gothic structures and appreciate the immensity of erecting such a building so long ago
study the lives of the monks, (see Unit 8 above)
look at how the building is used today, as a place of Christian worship.

Key Stage 3

During Key Stage 3 pupils learn about significant individuals and events in the history of Britain from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. They show understanding by making connections between events and changes in the different periods and areas studied.

Children acquire and apply knowledge, skills and understanding in five main areas:

chronological understanding
knowledge and understanding of events, people and changes in the past
historical interpretation
historical enquiry
organisation and communication.

The following units are applicable to a visit to Chester Cathedral.

Unit 4 How did the medieval church affect people's lives?

Pupils learn about the medieval church and its impact on people's lives, about the beliefs of the Catholic Church and the concept of Christendom. They learn about the role of the monasteries in medieval life and about criticism of the medieval church.

In Chester Cathedral the pupils can:

see the best surviving medieval monastic complex in the country
they will learn about the internal organisation of the monastery and the rules underpinning it
they will discover the importance of the monasteries as centres of learning.
they can study building styles and methods of building and see the progression of change during the Middle Ages
sitting in the original Quire they can hear about the reasons for the dissolution of the monasteries and the effect that had on the monastery in Chester
at St Werburgh's shrine the pupils will hear about pilgrimage in the Middle Ages and its importance to many of the people
by prior arrangement they can see valuable books from the period.

Unit 8 The Civil Wars. Was England “turned upside down” in the seventeenth century?

In this unit pupils will study the main personalities and events in the English Civil Wars.

In Chester Cathedral the pupils can:

see the effect that local battles had on the building
visit St Anselm's Chapel, (not usually open to the public), an excellent example of 17 th century architecture
study a monument erected to the memory of Sir William Mainwaring, a notable Parliamentarian.
they can examine seventeenth century plate in the form of two Charles I flagons.

Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4 teachers are encouraged to discuss their curriculum requirements with the Education Officer who will be pleased to work with schools to design programmes of study which meet the requirements of GCSE History modules such as History Around Us. There is also scope for non-examination coursework topics.