Cathy was fabulous! All of the sessions were interactive which was perfect for year one. Cathy was really engaging and had the children eating out of her hand form the outset. All activities that the teachers were asked to lead were easily set up and manageable. When we asked what the children enjoyed about the day all they could say was..."EVERYTHING!"

S Pamplin, Y 1 Teacher

Once again thank you so much for such an incredible day last Thursday. The children and I had the most wonderful time. Your workshop was very well executed and thought out to get as much engagement from the children as possible. I am looking forward to the writing that will come out from the experience.

V Atkins, Bell Lane Primary

Thank you very much for an engaging and jam packed day. Every session was designed really well for the full participation of the children. I think they all enjoyed the weapon training and battles the most but I particularly enjoyed learning about the runes and digging through the layers to learn about the grave goods. The resources and organisation were both excellent I would highly recommend your visits.

T Wakely, KS2 Leader, Hillcrest Primary, Downham Market

I just wanted to say a massive thank you for today!  It was such a fun day with so much learning! I think the children probably learnt more today than they did throughout our entire topic. 

You were absolutely fantastic and literally thought of everything - all of the staff were commenting on how smoothly you ran things and how they could genuinely tell the children had a wonderful time. 

I will pass your details on to our colleagues for future workshops. 

M Cranney, Y3 Teacher

We had the most amazing day today! Thank you for making it such a nice environment and a joy to be part of. The children were so involved, the activities so diverse and the year group sessions in the hall so engaging! Gladstone Park Primary School are big fans :) 

E. Oti, Gladstone Park Primary

 Just wanted to say thanks again for another wonderful day. All the parents have been extremely complimentary about the content, your knowledge and the delivery of the info. I was impressed with how engaged the children were today.
We are looking forward to medieval times!

 

E Leaf-Grimshaw, Home Educator Hub

Thank you for a fantastic day today. My class particularly enjoyed the hunting on the playground and they were buzzing when they left the classroom at the end of the day.

G. Hines Y3/4 Teacher

Gripping History was exactly as the name suggests – Gripping. The children were engaged from start to finish and were exposed to a high quantity of high quality information. the
children learnt loads and immensely enjoyed themselves because of the practical, ‘hands on’ nature of the sessions and the high quality resources and artefacts.

For the amount of time, thought and effort clearly put into planning, researching and resourcing this day as well as the children’s enjoyment and enriched understanding of the time period, this session was well worth the money.

M. Webb Y3 Teacher

An enjoyable, well-resourced day of learning for all, which was closely linked to, and supportive of the NC 2014 objectives. It was cross-curricular, promoting an interest and love of British history, and making it a subject all can be involved in, marvel at, and learn from, in a visual, stimulating manner. Cathy is a multi-talented ambassador of Primary school history, sharing her own expertise in order to ignite a love of history in a new generation of young people.

Year 4 Teacher, Ditton Lodge.

I would definitely recommend Gripping History...

Our visit from Gripping History was fantastic and Cathy is an absolute professional with a clear passion for engaging young people with the past. All the sessions were well prepared and very well thought out and she had marvellous control of a very large group throughout the day. All children and staff greatly enjoyed the activities and other classes not involved were a little jealous and went on to book their own separate sessions.

I would definitely recommend Gripping History to other colleagues firstly because it is great value for money, Cathy supplied all of the vast and authentic resources that supported each of the activities. Secondly, the children really enjoyed all of the events and it helped bring this topic to life and engage even the most reluctant of learners. Overall, it was a fantastic day and it is something I will be incorporating into my planning whenever I teach this period of history.

A Darninsuang, Year 4 teacher

 Thanks for holding the whole of KS2 in the palm of your hand...

 Thank you and congratulations on a really great Magna Carta day! Quick feedback from staff was that they all really enjoyed it and the children got a lot out of it. The complex ideas were made very accessible and they all had great fun with the activities and games. The games particularly are a talking point and it is a credit to you that the teaching staff so much enjoyed directing them, given the complexity of the ideas. They all loved the writing and some are going to continue the heraldry next week. They loved the superb set in the hall and your resources are brilliant. Thank you again for holding the whole of KS2 in the palm of your hand.

K Bonney, Deputy Head

I was so enthused I booked next year straight away...

I personally have not had a visit like this before, I have, for the past few years undertaken a day visit to a residential centre linked into the WWII topic we did in this term and to be honest I was sceptical because I didn’t think that in school experience could touch it. But I was so wrong. It was a brilliant day and completely memorable and we refer to things you did as part of our on-going class work all the time. Cathy has superb subject knowledge and excellent interaction with the pupils. She provided fun activities and excellent resources. I was so enthused I booked next year straight away.

A Egglestone, Y6 Teacher

The activities were well planned and varied...

Immersing them in the clothing, the artefacts, games etc really helps to bring facts to life. Discussing how we know about history and how historians have to work like detectives to piece clues together also sparked their interest. They absolutely loved the fighting and battles and actually ‘lived’ through the Battle of Maldon which otherwise may have been quite dry in written form. Through the activity they learned about the Saxons which we hadn't yet covered. They also had enormous fun!

I think the activities were well planned and varied and a change from previous history days we've had. The children learned a lot in an effortless way and got a real feel for the period. They really liked the outdoor activity (battle and archery) and were thrilled to be allowed to fight. They were very impressed by the archery and again, got something of a feel for what a battle might have entailed. We all had a fantastic day!

A Richman, Y4 Teacher

On behalf of all the year 3 & 4 teachers, thank you for a brilliant Stone Age day today. The children got so much out of all the activities and it was good that they could use and extend their existing knowledge. All the activities went down really well and were straight forward to teach from the provided packs and the start and end sessions were really engaging and informative!

H. Henderson Y3 Teacher

Thank you so much for another awesome visit!  The kids love it, and get so much out of it.

Are you available to come back again next year? 

A Connor, Y5 Teacher

 Just to let you know the staff were buzzing about your session yesterday. They have been completely inspired. As well as all the fantastic learning opportunities for the children they also raved about the inspirational CPD for them.

L Roberts, Head Teacher

I would like to say a massive thank you! We all (staff and children) thoroughly enjoyed our 'Gripping History' day with you. We would not hesitate to book with you again for our future topics. 

A runaway success...

I think as an introduction to the topic the day was a runaway success. You are so knowledgeable and the artefacts and resources you brought and shared have really helped us and inspired us as teachers as we tackle this (new for us) topic. It was a great launch.

J Folly, Y6 Teacher

Many thanks for today. It was superb and exceeded our hopes. 

Julian, Y5 parent.

Your knowledge of the specific age was obvious...

These days give a clearer idea of exactly what Saxons and Vikings would have lived and looked like, and what weapons/items they used. They were able to experience all of the above for themselves rather than seeing the items in pictures/photos.

It was clear to see that the day was well organised, even before you arrived, with clear correspondence and ability to provide timetables and risk assessments. You catered the day to our needs which showed flexibility.

Your knowledge of the specific age (Viking and Saxon) was obvious and when the pupils were keen to ask questions, you were able to give clear and simple answers for the children to understand.

C Cosgrave, Y5/6 Teacher