Students explore myths and legends of Dartmoor

Year 8 students from Plympton Academy have been learning about some of the myths and legends of Dartmoor.

MED Theatre Company came into school to work with the students on a new project called, ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles and the Last Wolf on Dartmoor,’ funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This complemented students' current investigations in history into poverty in Victorian Britain and related the topic to the area in which they live.

“This was a fantastic opportunity for students to investigate local history and explore the links between history and other subjects. This made for an exciting cross-curricular day,” said Head of History, Clare Sampson.

During the workshop, with Lucy Hurst from MED Theatre Company, students were given the chance to explore the myths and legends of Dartmoor, including Richard Cabell and Kitty Jay. The highlight for many students was recording an extract of a radio play.

“I loved learning about myths and legends because it was fun exploring the difference between the reality and what people believed to be true,” said Petra Goodwin.

During the rest of the day students continued to explore these themes in art, history, geography, English, science and hair & beauty workshops.

“I really enjoyed the art workshop because I made a hybrid creature. I liked collecting different parts of animals and seeing what I could create,” said Megan Boniface.

The highlight of the day was the Victorian hair and beauty workshop for Owen Kempe. “I really enjoyed it,” he said.