Pupils piece together the past

A special project helped primary school pupils travel back in time to delve into the fascinating history of their families.
Children from Old Town Primary School with Kelly MarsdenChildren from Old Town Primary School with Kelly Marsden
Children from Old Town Primary School with Kelly Marsden

Local business Twile worked with Key Stage 2 children at Old Town Primary School, Old Town, on a family tree project.

Its website allows anyone to create their own family tree timeline and co-founder Kelly Marsden, who lives in Old Town, was able to lend her expertise.

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Kelly said: “As a parent of three girls, two of which attend Old Town School currently, I was delighted to help with this project.

“Our ethos is very much about family history being about the present and future, as well as the past.

“Every single one of us can contribute to our family story right now and there are emotional benefits to doing this, particularly for children. Exploring our own family can lead to security and a sense of belonging.

“In a world of increased digital communication, we hope that this project encourages face to face conversation between children and their parents and grandparents.

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“It has been great seeing how this project fits in to the curriculum in so many ways and this is hopefully the first of many school projects that we will undertake.”

The children first put their family trees on paper and then transferred it online using Twile.

This helped them to see how they fit into their wider family and also enabled them to see family milestones in the context of major global events, including world wars and life-changing inventions.

Kelly hopes that she will be able to take the project to other schools, so their pupils can benefit from it.

Anybody interested is asked to contact [email protected]. Visit the website at www.twile.com.

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