Stone Age Thrive or Survive Specials - Starring your class, in your school Workshop

Horrid Historia

School Workshop London & South East Hampshire

Why do I love teaching the Stone Age? To put it simply this is, in essence, who I am. I simply love their ingenuity and ability to adapt to whatever challenge was thrown their way. To be at one with nature and the world; to live within the seasons and embrace the richness that each offers in turn. To be able to survive in a world that was full of danger. Which is why our workshops offer the opportunity for your pupils to experience these survival skills first hand, but they then also ask the question if that is enough? Is that all there is to life in the Stone Age? Or was there more - and this is where we excel. For we let them embrace and live the other side of our Stone Age heritage - the one where they thrive. For this is the very start of the human story and it is a page turning cliff hanger. Full of danger, intrigue, perseverance, trial and ordeal. It is about love and family; community and teamwork, treachery and betrayal.. It is about leaving a legacy that survives till this day and in our workshops we give your pupils the chance to relive these moments and discover for themselves if they would rather Thrive or Survive?

Our passion is all about hands-on enquiry-led learning. We don't operate on a script or come to you with a show. We design our workshops to fit your pupils needs and interests. We empower them to take their learning on a journey that inspires them to want to know more. We focus on the skills rather than the end goal using artefacts that are either real or hand-made replicas for the period. But we don't stop there. History isn't about full-stops. It's a maze of comma, ellipsis, exclamation mark and questions. It is about life. What came before and after; the links that forge and unite our history and our lives today. This is where we excel. You want a workshop on Iron Age weapons and armour then we bring this to life for you but we also explore what came before and what comes next. The evolution of the concept - the differences and similarities, what changes and what stays the same and why it happened - cause and effect.

"For we are the spark that ignites their passion."

We also cover - Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Saxons and Vikings and many more - details on our website. So if you are looking for a stand alone or multi-period experience that is bespoke to you, then the Horrid Historia team are your crew..

Stone Age Thrive or Survive Specials - Starring your class, in your school photograph

school trip at Stone Age Thrive or Survive Specials - Starring your class, in your school

school groups Stone Age Thrive or Survive Specials - Starring your class, in your school

Stone Age Thrive or Survive Specials - Starring your class, in your school school groups

Teacher Checklist

Bursaries or Funded Places Available

Where we travel to

We can visit your school in:

What activities are available during this school workshop?

We start every workshop with an interactive experience for your pupils that not only sets the scene but also allows them the opportunity to get to grips with many of our artefacts.
The rest of the day is up to you to decide safe in the knowledge that whatever you choose we will adapt the delivery and content to fit your narrative or enquiry-led trail. At present we have 14 specific Stone Age workshops for you to choose from and all of these can be combined or adjusted in order for us to deliver the living history experience your pupils deserve. All of the details are on our website but here is a flavour of some of them.
Cave Painting - your pupils get the opportunity to paint their own narrative Stone Age style using the hues and tools of the age onto our own unique mobile cave wall.
Stone Age Music - Another unique offering from us that allows your pupils to form their own 'Rock Band' in your classroom. They will be amazed at the range of musical instruments they will get to play and all hand made by our team.
Fire Lighting - Sounds risky but it is perfectly safe and a lot of fun. As your pupils get to grips with a skill set that took thousands of years to perfect but is probably the most importnat skill ever learned by humans.

Which curriculum topics do we cater for?

Citizenship Workshop

Team building Laws and the justice system

Click to read full text From the dawn of time we have been learning the key concepts of citizenship. From what we perceive as being the lawless uncultured past of our Neanderthal cousins we are beginning to discover a different narrative. Where rules become laws and where justice prevailed. But that is also a question in itself - where does justice sit inside a sphere of subjective processing. What happens when two cultures collide and each have different laws and identities? Who is right? Is the written word the measure of a cultures worth and if so why? What of the author? Have we measured their morality? Is there an agenda? Was their perspective skewed? History is a great place to explore all of this. Monarchy vs Democracy - we think this is a new concept. What about the Viking history or the Saxon kings and queens versus monastic life where elections selected leadership. What of international relations where trade was intrinsically linked to power and alliance. In a world full of different languages and cultures how did our ancestors not only manage but thrive before modern technology broke down many of these barriers? Our workshops use these principles to engage with your pupils and get them thinking and asking question themselves using historical principles as the guide for shaping modern day practices.

Art Workshop

Sculpture Painting History of Art

Click to read full text Art is the expression of what the world means to us as individuals, communities and cultures. It is our story and an echo of our souls which resonates for ever onwards throughout history. So within our workshops your pupils will get to express their unique artistic flair using a variety of mediums ranging from sculpture, carving, sketching, and paints. They will learn about the history of art and the use of different mediums, binders and pigments. How to use colour for effect and what to do when your colour choices are limited. They will discover the secrets of fresco painting and the use of tempura and gesso and what colour actually meant to ancestors as a spiritual and cultural guide.

Bushcraft Workshop

Click to read full text When we talk about bushcraft in todays terms what we are really referring to is the skill set that everyone of our ancestors would have needed in order to survive. Our workshops offer a huge array of opportunities for your pupils to not only learn, reinforce or enhance their bushcrafting knowledge, they will also be able to apply these skills practically within the contact of the period of history you are studying. We can teach and resource tracking, den building, fire lighting, cooking weapon and tool making, survival skills, wood carving, foraging, hunting, gathering, navigation, camouflage and concealment, plant and tree identifying, use of woods, use of plants, shelter building and a nomadic lifestyle to your pupils. Our skillset comes from an army background and after that years of living in the field and being at home with nature. For this reason our workshops flow with the seasons. They harmonise with nature and use the resources that are at hand rather than striving to create a false image of what bush life is meant to be. We will teach your pupils how to plan ahead and to use what nature provides. That foraging isn't just about food - it is everything else.

Archaeology Workshop

Click to read full text Archaeology provides a window through time from which we can use artefacts to recreate the narratives of that time period through the thoughts and ideas of your pupils. Here they will learn chronology and how different methods are used to date artefacts. They will learn how evidence is acquired, correlated and disseminated. They will discover how to form questions and how to use artefacts to form a narrative based on form, function and use. They will explore similarities/differences; cause and consequence and why things might change or stay the same. Whilst also exploring what we don't know and what archaeology alone cannot help us understand.

Cultural Education Workshop

Click to read full text What do we know of culture from pre-history? In truth very little and what we do have is often overlooked in favour of the materialistic manner that we attach to our ancestors. Here is a farm tool so these must have been farmers. The reality is though that it takes away the person and dehumanises our ancestors. Yet we should know better. We only need to watch young children at play before they get hooked on technology to witness that humans want to express themselves in all manner of different ways. Some are artistic, some musical, some love the drama and the same is true throughout history. It is just a different perspective. So here we explore the hidden sides of our ancestors - the human side.

Music Workshop

Listening to Music Music History Playing Musical Instruments

Click to read full text The wonderful thing about music is that somewhere every piece you have ever heard means something to someone. It invokes feelings and humans have been attempting to tame and train it to their narrative from the Dawn of humans as a species. Now today we will have timbre, notes, scales and many other conventions of musical form or so it would seem. Is our scale the same as in other places today? What makes a good song? A good tune to dance to? What does music actually mean and where does it come from. Well in the Stone Age it came from nature and you will be surprised how much melody is inert beneath our feet. We will teach your pupils about the history of music in the best way possible by letting them explore it, play it and recreate it. Songs, dance, performance - melodies, notes, tunes, percussion, beat and choreography on a different scale. A scale that taps into our ancient roots and follows them all the way up through the ages to the modern period if that is your desire. Or instead you could just stay and hang around with the original 'Rock Band'.

Prehistory Workshop

Iron Age Bronze Age Stone Age

Click to read full text Focussing purely on the Stone Age (Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic) is all very well and good but it covers such a grand chasm of time that it is almost impossible to grasp even as an adult. So whilst we do centre our journey within the Stone Age period we look at the humanistic side of life in the period. Is it enough just to survive? We use artefacts from the period to drive the narrative as first your pupils use or make the tools of the period. Creating flint tipped arrows, handling axes, flint scrapers, comparing fossils and animal bones, discuss housing such as round houses versus dens/shelters/ caves. Learn tracking skills and hunting techniques. Then we look at thriving and how this is established through settlements, music, art, pottery and pots. Using archaeology as the evidence but very importantly filling in the gaps driven by their enquiry and their understanding of what makes a human being human - rather than just a neanderthal or homo sapien.

Local History Workshop

Click to read full text We always endeavour to ensure that our delivery is relatable and meaningful to your pupils in terms of where they live and the local area. To that end we will, where relative to the period they are studying, build in the links to local heritage sites or events within their area. A great example of this is through simple everyday words that originate from varying cultural changes in our society and are often found in village or street names today. The variety and depth of this will really depend on where your school is located and what you also share with us. We will of course do our own research but if you have worked on something previously it would be great to add to this from a different perspective and build depth to their learning and knowledge.

What size groups do we cater for?

We are very adaptable and can usually facilitate workshops for most cohort sizes. Our standard package is one class per workshop leader but this can be adjusted to suit your needs and especially so with smaller / larger schools.

Visitors with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

We can adapt any workshop and its delivery to suit the needs of any of your pupils. We have a vast range of alternative or substitute resources at our disposal which can be used as an adaption for any workshop that we run. But more importantly all of our workshops are uniquely designed to ensure that all pupils/ clients can access the learning and join in with their friends / peers. We appreciate that some may need additional support to do so and where this is required we will work closely with the school to ensure that we come up with a solution that works best for them. Our two workshop leaders have over 30 years of experience between them working very closely with SEN, home education and small groups, as well as with young people in mainstream education that require adaptations or specialist support. Our ethos is inclusivity: we believe that enriching education experiences should be available for all young people.
I could mention here specific instances where we have adapted our delivery however I prefer instead to abide by our humanistic, holistic approach to education rather than focussing on what is in reality a label. In other words you know your pupils very well so please get in touch and we will instead work together to deliver something unique and special for YOUR pupils. I personally spent 7 years planning, creating and delivering bespoke 1:1 and small group sessions for pupils with additional and specific needs. So with your input and expertise in your young people, we can bring their curriculum to life.

Anything else?

As a company we pride ourselves on our sustainable approach towards delivering these workshops. So just as our ancestors will have done, we work within windows of opportunity. This does mean that as the seasons progress some of the resources we use may change to suit the season or may have been stored from an earlier window of opportunity. These will in no way affect the quality of the workshops we deliver; indeed we believe this approach enhances the authentic experience for your pupils. However some of the resources may not be as vibrant or available out of season.
For some of our activities we will need space - some of that outdoors and others an indoor alternative if it is really wet ie cave painting. We will always endeavour to go outdoors for workshops that require this regardless of the weather but will ensure that this always remains safe and enjoyable for your pupils.

Who are Horrid Historia?

Sean - this is my baby and it has taken years to come about. Decades of living as a re-enactor bringing history to life in castles all around the U.K. Living and learning the skills of our ancestors. I create most of the artefacts used in our workshops myself using period techniques and tools and just love researching and learning from trial and error to recreate something I have seen in a museum or have read about. As an educator, I have specialised in 1:1 intervention and SEN programmes. I have managed an outdoor heritage education site and won awards for my enquiry-led approach to teaching. I know how important and life changing enriching education experiences can be for young people and this is the drive behind this company. To make sure that these experiences are available and affordable for all schools and pupils. I am a parent, a husband, a grandfather. I coach swimming and martial arts. I am a published author and have played King John in a TV programme and have starred, as a prop, in a garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Adrian - a very good friend and a man whose passion for teaching and getting young people enthused about learning really knows no bounds. His speciality lies in Roman and Saxon history which he lives and breathes nearly every day. However, like me, he just loves history and the way he can bring it to life for young people is truly mesmerising. To sit and listen to his stories, which he loves telling, transports you back in time to an age where this was the most exciting and exhilarating time of the day for our ancestors and I guarantee that he will have your young people spell bound.

Whilst our prices are fixed per full day and half day visits and are very affordable (average cost based on class of 30 is less than £2 per pupil for a full day) we appreciate that if you are a smaller or specialist school, or a Home Ed group with your own accessible land, that this price structure doesn't work as well for you. So please do get in touch and as the saying goes - 'where there is the will; there is a way.' We can work together to find a solution.