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16-min watch
West Rise, School by the Marsh
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00:00/16:11
West Rise, School by the Marsh
00:00/16:11
00:00/16:11

West Rise, School by the Marsh

A documentary about West Rise Junior School in Eastbourne, which takes a hands-on, outdoors-oriented approach to learning, informed by the school’s location on the site of a Bronze Age settlement.

West Rise, School by the Marsh documents the materially driven curriculum in action at West Rise Junior School in 2016.

Situated on the outskirts of Eastbourne, then Headteacher Mike Fairclough, established a curriculum inspired by the Bronze Age, as the school was located next to the site of the second-largest Bronze Age settlement in Europe. With the help of the pupils, the school constructed a replica roundhouse and hosted a flock of sheep, a herd of water buffalo and over a million black bees. Since, the school devotes much of its time to learning outdoors, with the pupils building fires, cooking, constructing tools and even smelting metal.

About the film

“West Rise, School by the Marsh” is part of Freelands Foundation’s series of films documenting and celebrating ambitious approaches to teaching and arts education. 

Directed by Henry Ward
Cinematography and editing by Laurence Halstead
Camera assistant João Rebelo Pinto
Music by Balmorhea
© Freelands Foundation, 2016

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