Rochdale schools win national heritage award

The school children with, from left to right, Jeni Smith of St Andrews, Liz McIvor from Rochdale Pioneers Museum, Cllr Janet Emsley and Miss J Traynor from Caldershaw

Caldershaw Primary School and St Andrew’s C of E Primary School are the first in Rochdale to win the national Heritage Schools Award, given through Historic England’s Heritage Schools programme to those that have embedded local history into the curriculum.

Children and teachers from Caldershaw and St Andrews attended a special award ceremony at Rochdale Pioneers museum on Wednesday 16 October, where they were presented their awards by Councillor Janet Emsley.

As part of Heritage Schools, students from Caldershaw Primary School and St Andrew’s C of E Primary School have been discovering their local history.

At Caldershaw children have been learning about listed buildings in their area, whilst young people at St Andrew’s have been busy researching key Rochdale buildings, such as the imposing former Birch Hill Hospital, which was originally a Victorian workhouse.

Historic England’s national Heritage Schools programme is funded by the Department for Education, to support schools in exploring their local heritage. The Heritage Schools Award is presented to schools that have taken part in the Heritage Schools programme and have successfully embedded local history into the school’s curriculum.

Rochdale is also a Historic England designated Heritage Action Zone.

Miss Traynor from Caldershaw said: “Teaching and learning about local history and heritage is something we will carry on doing in future years because we’ve seen how much the children enjoy it and find it interesting.”

Lead Teacher Jeni Smith from St Andrews said: “It has been fantastic to see the children so excited about the history on their doorstep.”

Daisy Horsley, Manager of the Heritage Schools programme for Historic England in the North West, said: “We are incredibly impressed with the work that students have done at St Andrews and Caldershaw. It’s great to see children engaging with their local heritage and getting excited about the history of where they live. With several other schools taking part in the Heritage Schools programme in Rochdale, we are looking forward to awarding more plaques in the near future.”

Councillor Emsley said: “I am delighted that the next generation are finding about, and appreciating, their local heritage.”